Good Riddance
by Chicken Licken
Summary: Updated. The couple (or lack thereof...) are now older, and face bigger elements of ceremonial proportions and loyalty...
1. A Gathering of 7th Years

Good Riddance  
  
  
Lily had just finished packing her trunk for Hogwarts. She slung her bookbag over her shoulder and clenched her train ticket between her teeth as she put her hair up in an untidy ponytail. She tied her sneakers in a rushed manner, remembering to double knot. With one last look at her room, she closed the door behind her.  
  
She took to the stairs, jumping three at a time. Her parents were at the bottom.   
  
She flew into their arms, giving them a big hug.  
  
"Love you guys," she said.  
  
"Love you too, now hurry up or you'll be late." said her dad, handing Lily her wand.  
  
"Whoops. That thing has a mind of it's own. I wonder wh-"  
  
"Laundry room." said her mother.  
  
"Right. Well, see you!"she said, grabbing her broom.   
  
With a few well said words, Lily apparated out of the Evans' household and into Platform 9 & Three Quarters.  
  
*  
  
Lily heaved her trunk into one of the many compartments and carefully placed her broom in the overhead compartment.  
  
She was in a very good mood as she tossed on her Hogwarts robes. She rummaged around in her bookbag for a special something.  
  
"Got you." she said, extracting a slightly battered badge with the words 'Head Girl' stamped into it. She brushed off a stray piece of lint and admired it for a few moments.  
  
"You're not the only one who's surprised you got that, you know." came a voice from the compartment door.  
  
"Get lost Potter." she said, pinning the badge onto her robes. She knelt beside her bookbag, looking for her Arithmancy book.  
  
James Potter was still standing outside the door. Lily felt his presence even though she hadn't looked up yet. She stood up, reading the pages intently. She headed for the door, and looked up the tiniest bit to grasp the handle.  
  
She saw a gleaming piece of silver.  
  
"Lovely, isn't it?" he said, placing his hand on the doorway  
  
"Disgusting." she replied. Lily slammed the door on his fingers, laughing at his muffled howls of pain.   
  
*  
  
Lily sat down in her usual seat in the Great Hall, watching the other students slowly file in. Once the Great Hall was full and the sorting had taken place, Dumbledore began his usual speech.  
  
Lily's mind drifted, only catching parts of it. She heard him talk about her and that James being the new Head Boy and Girl. She heard him give out the regular rules to new first years, so on and so forth.  
  
Then he asked all 7th years to stay after the Feast for a special meeting.  
  
Chatter filled the air as the food appeared on tables. Lily picked up her fork and was about to take a bite of a tasty looking meat pie when someone with a bandaged hand sat down beside her. She inched away, giving an audible sigh.  
  
"You think I want to sit here? I just got back from the infirmary, and the rest were taken."  
  
"Aww, what happened to your hand?" she cooed.  
  
"Shut up, you - " he began, but was cut short as the bustle of students leaving the hall caught his attention.  
  
Once the Hall was deserted except for the few 7th years, Dumbledore called for silence.  
  
"Good Evening. I would like to begin by congratulating you, and reassuring you that this will only take a few moments. It has been brought to my attention that the majority of you have a fair amount of spare time on your hands, and aren't exactly making the most of it." At this point, Dumbledore's eyes flashed in the direction of James and Sirius. He continued,"Thus, I have decided to bestow upon you the task of dramatic performance. It will be a project in which all of you will take part in, and the final product will be presented to the rest of the school just before graduation."  
  
A few murmurs came from the students, but it died down quickly after Dumbledore raised his hand for silence.  
  
"I have enlisted the help of a fellow teacher to aid in the direcion of the play, and who has had reputable experience in such an area. Please give your utmost attention to Professor Trelawney."  
  
Lily could hear James' head thump down on the table with a quiet groan, but she pretended not to notice.  
  
Professor Trelawney strode into the middle of the stage as though she wore wings. She gave them a toothy grin and bowed quite low to a few hands clapping. She bowed again, and shook Dumbledore's hand. With a sigh, she finally turned to the waiting 7th years.  
  
"Greetings! The Headmaster and I are pleased to announce the event of a dramatic performance, and I cannot wait to get started on the upcoming work. We shall have a meeting, in which we will decide which play to perform, as well as who would like to do what job. This meeting will take place tomorrow, in my classroom, at 6 p.m. sharp. Thank you all!"  
  
She left the stage bowing and blowing kisses to the fatigued students, and Dumbledore bade them goodnight.  
  
"Great. I bet you all the money in Gringotts that it'll be some kind of romance." commented one of the Slytherins as they hurried past Lily.  
  
"Something dramatic, or completely ridiculous." said someone else.  
  
Personally, Lily liked the idea. She had worked on a play over the summer, and the experience wasn't half bad. She was pondering over which plays they might choose, when someone grabbed her by the arm.  
  
Lily was jerked backwards, but she was able to stay on her feet. She looked up and saw that her upper arm was being held by Professor Trelawney.  
  
"Oh, hello." she said, not sure of what to say at that moment.  
  
"Lily darling, may I have a word?"  
  
Lily nodded and smiled, trying to forget the abnormally long fingernails that were digging into her arm.   
  
"Splendid. Now then, it has been brought to my attention that you have a bit of experience in the dramatic arts. I was wondering if you would care to be my Student Director alongside me? That is, if you do not wish to act a part on stage," she said.  
  
"I'd love to be the Student Director, Proffessor. Thank y-"  
  
"Splendid, Lily. I'll meet you at 5:30, so we can discuss and organize before the rest of the students arrive. I'll see you then!"  
  
She unclamped her hand from Lily's upper arm and walked out of a separate entrance.  
  
Lily realized her mouth was slightly open. She shook her head and rubbed the sore spot on her arm, before leaving for the common room. 


	2. Cue Rehearsal

Good Riddance ::2::  
  
  
  
"What a day. I spent an hour doing my hair this morning, just to have it ruined by playing that god-forsaken flying game - what's it called - Quidditch. Can you believe it? Hooch threatens me that she'll fail me in Gym class if I don't throw a tacky red ball through one of those ridiculous hoops. Twenty minutes! Twenty minutes I was up there, till i finally did it, and she says I cheated! Something about 'my hand was still on the ball when it went through the hoop'. I mean, come on! Isn't that how they play it in a real game?"  
  
Lily sighed as she listened to her best friend Arabella Figg argue non stop about how unfair and pointless gym class is for girls. Lily didn't say anything, she was too concentrated on a heavy pile of books Arabella had just added to her already overfilled hands.   
  
In all respects, the two girls were as different as night and day. Arabella was a tall, blonde, and popular being. She was a bit slow on the uptake, and hated getting dirty. She preffered clothing and boys to sports and grades.Which brings us to Lily; a short, red-haired, athletic bookworm.Lily was only known for being Head Girl and Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Otherwise, she was just the shadow of Arabella.  
  
"You know, I HAVE been on the team for a few years now..." said Lily.  
  
"What team?" Arabella asked.  
  
"Quidditch."  
  
"Oh really? When did that happen?"  
  
"Just meet me on the pitch in 10 minutes, I just have to drop this stuff off and grab my broom."  
  
"Okay. See you in ten!"  
  
Lily shifted the books to one hand as she pushed open the portrait. She quickly dropped the books on one of the many tables in the common room, then ran up to her dorm to get her broom.  
  
She sprinted outside and onto the pitch, where Arabella was waiting.  
  
"Slight problem," she said, by way of greeting. She pointed skywards, where Lily saw four people zooming around on brooms. "They have the Quaffle."  
  
"Great." Lily said, surveying the four students.  
  
"So do you want to leave?"  
  
"No, you need to get this whole Quidditch thing down before you fail Gym Class. Come on," she added, "Think of it as your first lesson. Number one thing I want you to do is get that ball away from them, and pass it to me. Stay open, because I'll pass it back to you."  
  
"I - I guess so."  
  
"Don't be nervous, be aggressive."  
  
Arabella laughed, and swung her foot over her broom rather haphazardly.  
  
"On the count of three then," Lily began, "One, two, THREE!"  
  
Arabella was up in the air, looking around madly for the one holding the Quaffle. Lily, meanwhile, was doing the same thing.  
  
"Damn, it's them." she said, noticing that the four players were James Potter and his little gang.  
  
James noticed the increase in players, and flew over to Arabella.  
  
"What are you d-?" he began, but was cought off guard as a Quaffle bounced off the back of his head.  
  
Arabella caught it and smiled back at her friend.  
  
"Now pass it back!" she called.  
  
Lily caught the ball and zoomed off for the goalposts, knowing full well that she now had an entourage.  
  
"Give it up, Evans" he called, his loud voice told Lily he wasn't far behind.  
  
"Fat chance," she replied, throwing the quaffle forcefully through one of the goalposts. She spun around on her broom, her knee bumping up against his as she slowed just enough to retaliate further; "Go catch your little golfball and leave the Quaffle to those who can play the game, Potter."  
  
James glared at the back of her head before extracting his wand from his cloak. He muttered something while pointing it at the nearest bludger. Satisfied, he resumed play.  
  
Lily was watching Arabella as she was desperatly trying to keep composure while thrashing at Sirius Black for the Quaffle. She smiled.  
  
"Get the Quaffle! Get the Quaffle!" she called out. Little to her knowledge, there was a bludger aiming straight for the back of her head.  
  
Arabella was thrashing her arms around Sirius' head, when she saw Lily out of the corner of her eye. She also saw the oncoming bludger.  
  
"Lily look out!"  
  
Lily spun around, and saw black. She threw herself backwards until she lay flat against the broom, and the bludger zoomed past her. She sat upright again, and flew off towards Arabella. She could hear a strange noise behind her, like something was whistling. She glanced back, and saw the same bludger trailing behind her.   
  
She laid flat against the broom and shot backwards. Only seconds later, the bludger did the smae thing.  
  
"What the heck?" she asked herself mentally. Her first instinct flew up beside her.  
  
"Having troubles, Evans? Need a break?"  
  
Now, Lily was a smart person. She knew at once he had tampered with the bludger. She also knew how the reaction time to the ball was only a few seconds behind hers. She sped up and turned sharply, aiming straight at James. He gasped, and ducked.  
  
As soon as she had passed, he resumed his position on the broom. He smiled inwardly, but his expression changed as the bludger hit him in the stomach, so no one really noticed anyways.  
  
Lily saw James being hit. He put his face in his hands, then tried to grip the broom with his right. Lily laughed, but she had stayed still just a moment longer than she should have, and was struck on her left arm, causing her to flip upside down on her broom. She tried to swing back up, but she could only grasp the handle with her right arm, hooking the broom with her elbow as her other arm hung useless. She directed herself to the ground and sat there, quickly trying to roll up her sleeve to observe the damage.  
  
James managed to reach the ground, coughing and clutching his stomach. He grabbed his wand an bellowed the counter curse. The bludger fell back to earth and bounced back into the storage box. He was still gasping when he turned to Lily.  
  
"I - can't -be-believe -you!" he said.  
  
"Me?!" she hollered, "I wasnt the moron who tampered with the thing!"  
  
"You -started it!"  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"Did - too!"  
  
"Did NOT!"  
  
"DID-TOO!!"  
  
"WILL THE BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!"  
  
Sirius was staring at them just as everyone else was getting off of their brooms. He looked at James, who was red-faced and still rubbing the sore spot on his stomach, and then at Lily, who was trying to get to her feet.  
  
"Does it really matter who started it?" he asked. Lily and James glared at each other. James was about to retaliate, but Siruis cut him off.  
  
"It's over, James, so stop it. By the looks of it, you both should head up to the infirmary. We have to meet at Trelawney's class in 20 minutes, so I suggest you hurry."  
  
The two slowly made their way up to the infirmary, with Lily using her right hand to open the doors for her and James - much to her dislike. Madam Pomfrey mended Lily's arm quickly, and gave James a potion for his stomach.  
  
They made it to Trelawney's classroom just moments before she called for order. Lily couldn't stop muttering apologies for not coming in on time. She patted her arm and told her to have a seat.  
  
"Welcome!I'm glad you could all make it, so let us begin. I have chosen a play for us to preform." At this, many looks were exchanged, as the Professor had previously stated she would leave the choice to them. "It is a modern remake of the life of Anastasia Romanov. A muggle romance with a lot of drama." Trelawney put a hand to her mouth in mock admiration, before continuing: "Rehersals will begin the day after tomorrow, so be sure to take a copy of the script on your way out. Now, I would like to introduce you to my Student Director, Lily Evans. She will be assisting me with the direction of the play, as well as choosing who will have what part or job. Please show her the same respect you show me. Does anyone have any questions?"  
  
"How many major roles are there in the play?"  
  
"I believe there are 8, but there are many smaller parts that some students may have to take on more than one part."  
  
"What time and where are the auditions?"  
  
"8 o'clock in the Great Hall."  
  
No one else had any questions, so Professor Trelawney allowed them to leave. She gave Lily a large clipboard, a new quill, and a more detailed copy of the script. On the clipboard, there was somewhat of an organizer sheet, that had all of the 7th years' names, and spaces to fill in what they would be in charge of. There were pages of costumes and props, as well as what the set would look like.  
  
"Just bring this with you whenever we're practising or having meetings. You may want to bring it tomorrow as well."  
  
"Sure thing. I'll see you tomorrow then, Professor."  
  
*  
  
Lily was watching the people filing into the Great Hall. She wanted to know who got along with who, so she could intermix but still keep people happy. Trelawney showed up at 10 past 8, and called for silence.  
  
"Plese, everyone, pair up in boy-girl partners. Then kindly have a seat until your name is called."  
  
She motioned for Lily to acompany her to a small table with 2 chairs that faced the stage. Lily noticed that Trelawney didn't have anything with her - no papaer, no nothing. Odd. She also wasn't doing much, so Lily read out the names and closely watched the partners perform their small selection of lines. She made mental, as well as written notes on who seemed adequate for each role. She was quite taken at how well Potter could act, and Arabella seemed as though she was meant for the spotlight. Lily jotted down more notes, then turned to Professor Trelawney.   
  
She was picking lint off of her skirt.  
  
"What did you think of those two?" she asked.  
  
Trelawney jerked at Lily's voice. "Oh, oh, I think - yes. Definate possibilities. Who's next?" she asked, tracing names near the top of the page.  
  
"Those were the last two, Professor." Lily said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"I suspect they were! You should be quite busy tonight I suspect, making the cast lists and so on,"  
  
Lily's eyes grew large. "I - I thought - you -"  
  
"Yes darling, hard choices to make. Now if you'll excuse me -"  
  
Lily slammed her clipboard onto the table as she pushed her chair back. Mouthing wordlessly at Trelawney's back, she stomped off to take an Advil.  
  
She pushed open the door and marched down the hallway, rounded a corner - and hit something solid. She fell on her butt as her papers flew everywhere. She looked up, but she only saw air. She narrowed her eyes, still searching.   
  
Lily thought she heard a giggle, then "Look! She's looking for us!" in little more than a whisper.  
  
"Honestly Sirius, if you're pretending not to be there than for goodness sake keep your mouth shut." Lily said as she crawled around, picking up papers. After a while, there was only one left behind her. She shifted all of her papers to one hand, and grasped the paper. It wouldn't move.  
  
"Move your foot."  
  
"Nah," came a voice. Lily recognized it at once.   
  
"Fine," she said. "But when you do choose to move it, I suggest you aim in that direction, as we have 3 minutes to meet Dumbledore for a meeting."  
  
She hurried off in that direction, with a stern expression on her face. James appeared at her side, pinning his badge on.Lily quickened her pace. So did James. Lily broke out into a run, just as James did the same thing. However, he was much taller than she was, and it was only a matter of seconds before he was well in the lead. Lily couldn't have cared less, and as he rounded a corner, Lily turned and headed in the opposite direction, running as fast as her feet would carry her, back to the common room.   
  
James turned around. Lily was nowhere to be seen. He shook his head, and gave the password to Dumbledore's office. Once at the top of the stairwell, he knocked on the door.   
  
Dumbledore opened it, and looked quizzicaly at James. He was holding a toothbrush and was wearing a nightcap and fuzzy slippers. "Yes?" he asked after a while.  
  
"I'm here for the meeting," James said.  
  
Dumbledore went in to deep thought, but James saw that he was trying hard not to smile.  
  
"James?" he said finally, "There is no meeting." 


	3. Punctuality

Good Riddance ::3::  
  
Lily stopped to massage her forehead between organizing her notes on the play. She glanced back down at her workspace, only to notice for the 4th time that she was taking up a lot of space. But no one seemed to be noticing. After all, it was 6 a.m. She was the only one, apart from Filch (who was wiping tables), in the Great Hall.   
  
It had been a week since rehearsals, and Lily had yet to post the lists of Character Parts. She spread out all of the notes from that day, and brought out her quill and a bottle of red ink.  
  
"Now then," she said, and brought out a crisp new piece of parchment that was abnormally long. She listed all of the fictional characters, then sat and thought for a moment. She kept thinking about how Trelawney was doing as little as she could in this.   
  
"Experienced my a-"she began, but was drowned out by the loud bang of Filch dropping his bucket of water on the floor.  
  
'I've been working non stop on this play, and she does nothing to help.' she thought. 'Between this and Quidditch practise, I'll have a nervous breakdown.'  
  
About an hour and a half later, Lily was just finishing writing the last name on the list. She gave a sigh of relief and went to post it on the doors to the Great Hall.  
  
"Evans, Evans, Evans. Do you insist on giving me the part of the villain, or is it just by coincidence?"  
  
Lily didn't even dignify him with an answer, but Snape insisted on following her back to her seat. She gathered her things in a rushed manner, but when she turned to leave, he was right in her face.  
  
He smiled, showing his misshapen teeth. She grimaced.  
  
"Don't make me move you." she warned.  
  
He stepped closer.  
  
She sighed, set her things on the table, and turned to face him again. "Really Snape, this is for the good of everyone."   
  
Lily punched him - hard - in the mouth.  
  
She took her things again and walked past him, massaging her shoulder and making a mental note to use the strongest soap on her hands once she found a sink.  
  
*  
  
After dropping off her things and grabbing her broom, Lily glanced at her watch. She was late for practice. "Shoot. James will have a field day."  
  
Once she made her way on to the pitch, she saw that the team was already in the air. "Double shoot." She shook her shoulder, hoping that the soreness of it wouldn't affect her game.  
She mounted her broom and pushed off of the ground.  
  
"Evans! Where were you? I strictly said to be here at-"  
  
"Shove it, Potter." she said, shaking her shoulder out again. She shook her head mentaly, and went for the Quaffle. She caught it and zoomed off for the goalposts. She threw forcefully, and let out a yell of pain. She clutched her shoulder - it felt as though it was being continuously stabbed by a thousand knives. Her broom fell sharply, but it didn't hit the ground. She used her good arm to steer downward. She was off of the broom 3 feet from the ground.  
  
Lily sat on the ground, unsure of how to hold her arm so it wouldn't hurt. She heard a few thumps from her teammates' landings.  
  
"Lily, Lily are you okay?"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Everyone back in the air please. Go on, clear off. Go."  
  
James came beside Lily. "What happened up there?" he asked.  
  
Lily just shook her head. "Nothing, I'm okay. Just hand me my broom -"  
  
"What's wrong with your arm Evans?"  
  
"I said nothing! Now please give me my broom!"  
  
"No."  
  
"I can play, okay? My arm is fine!"  
  
All of the other players had landed again, and were watching Lily and James. James had just kicked the broom away from Lily's outstretched arm. She stared at him in disbelief and anger. Lily got up and walked over to it, and grasped it so tightly her knuckles were white.  
  
She pushed off from the ground, and zoomed off to the other end of the pitch. James approached the other players.   
  
"Don't let her touch the thing, got it?"  
  
They all nodded, and once again took to the sky.  
  
Lily breathed a sigh of relief afterseeing everyone take off again, and went after the Quaffle.  
  
Arthur Weasley had it, and he had a clear area to pass it to her. She cought his attention, but he had passed it to Remus Lupin. She flew up to him. "What was that all about? I was open! We could have made it!"  
  
"Sorry, I couldn't pass it to you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Sorry Lily."  
  
He flew off, and Lily followed suit shortly thereafter. Twice more she was refused the ball, before she caught on. Angrily, she flew up to James.  
  
"What did you tell them?"  
  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
  
She glared at him, and spoke slower, with a little more anger in her voice.  
  
"What - did - you - say?"  
  
James just looked at her, then at her shoulder.  
  
"Nothing. If you're just having troubles getting the Quaffle, maybe you should just- "  
  
But Lily had already left his side.  
  
She raced towards Eliza Finnigan, and knocked the quaffles right out of her hands. It was too painful for words, but Lily was past taking it. She grabbed the ball, and hurled it from a third of the way down the pitch - scoring it in the highest goalpost. She glared at a dumbstruck James, before landing and heading inside.  
  
She waited until she was out of view of the team before grasping her shoulder again. Whatever pain there was before paled in comparison to it now. She was silently crying while she walked, as she planned out a route to the infirmary that wouldn't surround her with people.  
  
She was mid-thought when someone tapped her good shoulder.  
  
"You dropped this," James said, holding her wand out. He was fighting not to laugh, Lily thought.   
  
She grabbed it out of his hands and turned to walk away again.  
  
"I never knew you threw like that." he commented.  
  
Lily was glad he didn't see her momentary smile. Her face became serious as she turned to face him again. "I never knew you would stoop so low as to tell the team to refuse me the ball."  
  
"Shut up Evans. You should be thanking me."  
  
"Thanking you? For what? Not having enough faith in your teammates when they say they're okay? Or should I thank you for lying about telling them to back off? Do me a favour Potter, just mind your own business."  
  
With that, she made her way to the infirmary.  
  
*  
  
"Okay everyone! I need silence! Thank you. Now then, to business. We've all had an eventful Christmas break, but from this point on, we have a lot to do and precious little time to do it in. I hope you used your break to review your lines, and if not, please do that over the next few weeks. That said, I'd like to turn things over to my faithful student director. Lily?"  
  
Professor Trelawney looked around the Great Hall at the many faces.  
  
"Lily, dear?"  
  
A few whispers spread out; everyone was looking for their student director. Trelawney pulled aside James.  
  
"James, I believe you know where the Head Girl's dorm is? Could you go check if she's there? Oh, thank you."  
  
James hadn't even answered yet, as he was being pushed out the door by bright green fingernails before he could answer her - or talk for that matter. She closed the doors behind him, and he could hear her calling for order once again.  
  
He sprinted up 6 flights of stairs, down 2, and up another 4.   
  
"Where was it again?" he asked between gasps. He could have slapped himself when he saw the Marauders Map sticking out of his robes. He opened it, said a few words, and saw that Lily was in her dorm on the 6th floor hallway.  
  
"So I was right the first time." He took a few breaths before jumping down the stairs, 3 at a time. He shecked his map, and it showed a tiny dot, labelled James Potter, standing in front of the 12th portrait on the left. He followed the dot and saw a tiny speech bubble with the word 'Mockingbird' just inside it. Shrugging, he leant close to the portrait of a dragon, leaning rather reluctantly, and said "Mockingbird" in it's ear.  
  
He leapt back to allow it to open, and stepped inside. The room was huge, the exact same size as his, but it had stone walls with a huge window, burgundy coloured carpet, wood furniture, and hundreds of books fitted into a large bookshelves with a gliding ladder. Many were pulled down and left on the desk. On closer inspection, the books weren't the only things on the desk. Lily was seated with her head and arms on the desk top, upon piles of papers and open books. She was sound asleep.  
  
He guessed that she had fallen asleep late last night, as she was still in her school robes. James smiled at her. He was about to wake her up, but he remembered how she was working away all week, more than likely the last to bed and the first to rise in all of Hogwarts. She stayed home on Christmas break to draw set backgrounds while everyone else celebrated and played with their new things. Through all of it, she found time to help out fellow students with scholastic problems, as well as keep up with her Head Girl duties. James pulled back his hand, and now he was looking at her with admiration.  
  
He snapped out of it after a while, and figured that he could at least take her papers so they could get on with things downstairs. He grasped her hand to pull it up. As soon as her hand moved, Lily jerked awake.  
  
She looked around, squinting her eyes through the bright light coming in from the window. She looked at James, and gasped.  
  
"What are you doing in here? How did you-"  
  
He was still holding her hand. He realized it too, and quickly let go.  
  
Lily shook her head, and continued talking through the odd silence. "So what exactly are you doing?"  
  
"You weren't down at practice, so Trelawney asked me to come up and get you. You were asleep so I thought I'd just take the papers and leave you alone."  
  
Lily's eyes went wide.   
  
"Practice?"  
  
"Practice."  
  
"This morning?"  
  
"This morning."  
  
She glanced at her watch.   
  
"Oh my god! Oh, I'm so late! I should have been there ages ago, oh I'm so late!"  
  
"Lily, calm down, it's oaky, really."  
  
She was shuffling madly through her notes, lifting up books and still muttering.  
  
"No! No it's not okay! I had to have something done for Trelawney this morning, so I stayed up half the night working on it! I fell asleep by accident. Oh, she'll be so mad!"  
  
"Lily, calm down-"  
  
"I CAN'T!" she yelled. Her eyes were all glassy and she kept shuffling. "I - I can't. I need to get my things and go apologize. I - I promised that it would be done. I'm late, I could have missed the whole thing -"  
  
James went around to the opposite side of the desk, and tried to take the papers from her hands.  
  
"Let go, Lily."  
  
"I'm sorry James, but I need to get these things downstairs."  
  
"Lily, don't take this the wrong way, but - let - go."  
  
"But I'm so late, I need to - " she looked at him, their faces inches apart. She searched his eyes, before letting go and sitting down, putting her head in her hands.  
  
"This has never happened before." came her muffled voice. "Never."  
  
"I can go downstairs and tell them you're not feeling well."  
  
"No. No, I'm going. Just give me my papers."  
  
He still looked reluctant.  
  
"I don't need your pity, Potter."   
  
She walked around him and held open the portrait. Her eyes motioned for him to go through. As soon as he did, he felt something kick his heels. He turned around, and she was right behind him. She didn't notice he was looking at her, because her eyes were focused on kicking his heels as she struggled to walk quickly.  
  
"You want to lead?" he asked.  
  
"Wait -"she kicked his heels one last time, then sprinted around him. 


	4. Left-Together, Right-Together

Good Riddance ::4::  
  
"Oh, Lily - I can't wait another four weeks!"  
  
"You can and will. Heaven knows I can wait."  
  
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun! And then there's Graduation, which - to be frank - I'm not partial to. I can't believe that in four weeks - everyone will be gone!"  
  
Arabella kept right on talking, but she had struck something in Lily. Suddenly Lily felt like the bottom dropped out of her stomach, and she heard Arabella's voice like a broken record in her head; "...in four weeks - everyone will be gone!" She realized that she had stopped moving, and quickly caught up to her babbling friend.  
  
"So what are we doing at this meeting Lily?"  
  
"Sorry? Oh, dancing."  
  
"Dancing? For what? Everyone knows how to dance Lil."  
  
"Do you know how to waltz?"  
  
"Beg pardon?"  
  
"My point exactly." Lily held open the doors to the Great Hall for her friend. Arabella walked in, and she noticed that all of the tables had been moved to the edge of the room, leaving a huge space in the middle. Lily sprinted up to the stage, where she began her speech.  
  
"Okay guys. We have a little under four weeks to finish up with the preliminary stuff and move on to the full rehearsals. All that needs doing now is for everyone to learn the basic dance routines, which is why we're here today. On that note, everyone grab a partner and space yourselves out. I'll be starting the music in a second."  
  
People were murmuring. Girls began to group, giggling at the thought of dancing with the boys. Lily pushed her way into a circle, began giggling like the rest of them before becoming suddenly stern.  
  
"Don't be jeuvenile."  
  
The other girls looked at her, some rolling their eyes. They slowly made their way to the other half of the Hall where their counterparts were waiting.  
  
She took Arabella's wrist, and went over to James. "You two need to practice together."  
  
Lily waved her wand and there came a soft waltz from around the walls. She began walking around, observing people and calling out instructions. She had made her way around the gym, content that the majority were catching on. Then she got back to Arabella and James. They were in trouble. A lot of trouble.  
  
James seemed to know what he was doing, but Arabella was about two steps ahead of him.   
  
"Arabella, you're moving too quickly. Slow down, and count the beats in your head."   
  
Arabella nodded, and soon her movements resembled that of a robot.  
  
"No," Lily laughed, "Look, when he moves his foot there, yours goes here." she said, indicating with her foot. "And keep your eyes off of the floor. You're supposed to have done this before, so you can't be too bad at it on stage."  
  
Arabella shook her shoulders out, and took a deep breath. Her first move was to step on James' foot. He stumbled slightly, just as Arabella let out an aggrivated sigh.  
  
"This isn't possible! Lily, there's no way - I don't understand what you mean."  
  
Lily held out her hands, pretending to be holding ono an imaginary partner. She moved her feet in a rhythmic pattern, dancing circles around Arabella. They were both laughing, but when Lily spun around in front of her friend, Arabella pushed her right into someone. Lily was cought off guard, but she straightened he back and held out her arms to the person in front of her. Snape. Lily's mouth opened in shock, and she was about to turn away, but Snape grabbed her hands and started dancing. Lily looked at Arabella, who was also shocked.   
  
"I'm sorry!"  
  
Lily tried to push away from him, but Snape danced her away from her friend and into the crowd.  
  
"My my, what an excellent dancer."  
  
"Shove it. Let me go or I'll punch you again."  
  
"Lily Evans wouldn't resort to violence with a teacher around, would she?"  
  
"I swear to god, let go of my hands."  
  
He put his face near hers, and Lily had a terrifying thought tht he'd try to kiss her, but instead whispered under his breath :  
  
"The Dark Lord is powerful Lily Evans. Very powerful. It is higly advised that you put your loyalties on the rewarding side of the fence. You know what will happen if you don't."  
  
Lily ripped her hands out of his, staring at him with a look of fury. "Severus Snape," she said, in a little more than a whisper, "Get - out." She pointed a finger to the door of the hall. He looked at her, with a small grin. He slowly walked past her, never looking away from her eyes until he was behind her. She turned to his back, and yelled out for the whole Hall to hear, "And take 200 Slytherin points with you!"  
  
Lily could see that his smile hadn't changed, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he walked out of sight. Lily was breathing rather unevenly, and her fingers felt cold. Everyone was staring at her, speechless. She thought she could hear Sirius clapping and cheering.They hadn't heard what he said, but they found the sudden loss of points to be quite interesting. Lily shakingly waved her wand in the air, making the music slightly louder. Everyone resumed dancing, and Lily turned around to go back to Arabella.   
  
She was facing James. She couldn't take this right now, she couldn't take anything. All she wanted to do was to dissapear into her dorm. Arabella was standing beside James. She looked worried, and Lily knew she was going to burst out in apologies any second. James was trying hard not to laugh. To him, she just looked embarassed. He broke into laughter, and strode over to Lily, immediately launching the both of them into a waltz.   
  
"Something you're not telling us about?" he said, not bothering to keep his voice down.  
  
"W-what? What?! There is nothing going on Potter, so leave me be."  
  
"You dance much better than you lie, Evans."  
  
"Why would I lie? Where do you get off on making assumptions like that?"  
  
"You tell me Evans."  
  
"Tell you what? There's nothing to tell."  
  
"Only a lie, right?"   
  
The quarrelling pair stopped momentarily to notice that they had the attention of everyone in the room.  
  
"Do I have to keep fixing your mistakes Potter?"  
  
"When have I made a mistake? And when have you ever fixed them...if any?"  
  
"5th year." she replied, and it was then that James' smug expression faltered. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily could see Sirius' arms uncross as he watched them expectantly. James then shook his head in the slightest bit, telling her not to press the subject.  
  
"No no, James, let the girl speak." Severus Snape strode between the two and then turned to face them with a grin on his face.  
  
"Severus, I believe you had been excused already." Lily said.  
  
"Now why would I want to miss this? I for one would love to talk about 5th year. Wouldn't you, Remus?"  
  
Lily was mentaly kicking herself, 'If anything gets out, If anything gets out' she thought repeatedly.  
  
"Severus-" she said, her voice only more than a whisper, but he didn't hear her. He was too busy enjoying the situation. Everyone in the room was looking sideways at each other, a few whispers floated over some heads.  
  
"Severus-" she said a little louder. He turned around. "You were once warned." she said, trying to keep her voice from cracking.  
  
"I was, wasn't I? But what's a secret among friends?"  
  
James had finally found his voice."As Head Boy, one has certain powers that cannot be taken lightly by other students. Such powers are used to maintain order among peers. Each student has rights, and to the student there is responsibility of actions and their consequences. Such consequences are enforced by figures of authority, and, when and where needed, the maintenance of order is top priority to ensure the well being of students within the school. Are you quite sure then, Severus Snape, that you wish to continue your speech?"  
  
Lily almost burst out laughing for two reasons; one, because James had memorised the school code of conduct, and two, because Snape looked completely over his head. She maintained her composure however, and kept her face straight and severe.  
  
Snape didn't answer James, but stalked off in a huff.  
  
"I believe we'll end it here today," Lily said in a louder voice so she could be heard over the many whispers. "I'll see you all next week."  
  
James was staring at her. "Well?" he said, after an awkward silence.  
  
"Well what?"  
  
He threw up his hands in exasperation, muttering something like "unbelievable" before leaving the room as well.  
  
Lily stared at his back as he left.   
  
"Uhm, Lily?"  
  
Lily could have jumped ten feet from her skin. She whirled around to face Arabella, who looked slightly prepared to be beaten down.  
  
"B-before you say anything," she began, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I thought I was pushing you into James, but then Snape came out of nowhere and - I'm so sorry."  
  
"It's okay, but promise me you'll have those steps down by the end of the week, and all will be forgiven. Now go, I need to clean up around here. I'll see you in classes tomorrow, okay?"  
  
"Are you sure you don't need any help?"  
  
"I'm okay, don't worry about it."  
  
"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow then."  
  
"See you."  
  
Lily slowly started picking up some stray garbage before extinguishing the torches that lined the walls. She closed the giant doors to the Great Hall, and quietly made her way up to her dorm.  
  
"Mockingbird."  
  
The portrait swung open to allow her into her dorm. Lily lit a few torches, illuminating her room. She dropped her things onto the desk, neatly piling them on the designated "to do" side, and taking the papers from the "finished" side, placing them in her schoolbag. She went over to the dresser, and took out her neatly folded uniform from the pile, and set it out on her desk chair.  
  
Lily liked order. She couldn't handle chaos, or uncleanliness.  
  
Lily pushed in her chair and went to pull back the covers on her bed. Something caught her eye in the process. She picked up a plain white envelope that was sitting on her quilt.   
  
'Odd.' she thought. 'Mail doesn't arrive 'till Tuesday...'   
  
She ripped the edge of the envelope and shook out the parchment inside. And as Lily Evans' eyes scanned the typed words of the letter, only one image reverberated inside her head.  
  
Pandemonium. 


	5. Knowledge is Power

Good Riddance ::5::  
  
Everyone was bustling around the new stage that had been set up in the Great Hall. This was the first rehearsal with everyone in their costumes. Tensions were also running high, as all the actors and actresses were equally anticipating their graduation, a mere week away.   
  
James ruffled his hair as he listened to Arabella recite a long speech. He could barely hear her over everyone else, and he felt so stupid in his costume. His eyes roamed the Hall for Trelawney.  
  
"James? James-"  
  
"What? Oh, sorry, where are we?"  
  
Arabella looked on the verge of tears. "Please don't ask me to repeat my lines," she pleaded.  
  
"Okay, er-" he fumbled with his script. "Hold on a sec- where exactly are you?"  
  
"We're never going to get this if you keep spacing out like this! Honestly, the preformance is next week and I-"  
  
James however, had stopped listening ages ago. He let her rant on and on about god knows what.  
  
He noticed Dumbledore enter the hall rather discreetly. He made his way around the edge of the room to where Trelawney was standing, and pulled her away from where she was overseeing costume fittings. They went into deep conversation, and after a few moments, Trelawney put her hand to her mouth in shock, and Dumbledore himself looked grim. James jumped down from the stage and went over to them.  
  
"Potter! POTTER!"  
  
"Just a second Arabella, I'll be right back-"  
  
"I can't believe that you're doing th-"  
  
James just kept making his way over to Dumbledore. The Headmaster saw him approaching, and looked torn between making a quick getaway or staying to tell him what was wrong.  
  
He waited.  
  
"Sir, I noticed you come in."  
  
"Yes James. I must speak to you, but I feel that this is not the place to do so. Please come with me - Professor Trelawney, will you be able to handle the rest of today's rehearsal? Excellent, I shall speak with you again later."  
  
He turned and strode quickly out of the hall, with James only a step behind him.   
  
They made their way into an empty classroom, and Dumbledore closed the door behind him as James lit a few torches.  
  
"So what's happened?"  
  
"It concerns Lily Evans. She has just recieved the most terrible news from home."  
  
James crossed his arms and looked at the floor, before looking back at Dumbledore.  
  
"What has happened, James, was that only a few days ago, both of her parents were murdered. The Ministry investigated the incident thoroughly, and they have come to the conclusion that they were killed by Voldemort." He paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "It was in Lily's best interests that she go home, and I have allowed it."  
  
James nodded slowly, and made a mental note to talk to Lily as soon as he could find her.  
  
"I hope you won't find the extra responsibility of what Lily has left daunting."  
  
"No, of course I won't. It's only for a few days anyways."  
  
"Mister Potter, I'm afraid Lily won't be returning. She will be completing what is left of the year through correspondance."  
  
"She's what?" said James, standing up from his leaning against a desk.  
  
"It's what she wanted."  
  
"But you let her? You said it's okay? Professor, Lily is the thread that's holding together the play. She's Head Girl. She can't just up and leave-"  
  
"James Potter." said Dumbledore in a harsh tone," I would expect you of all people to understand and accept this. I'm sorry for any inconveniences this may cause for you and your schoolmates, but I cannot hold someone back for materialistic things.   
I must leave now to attend a staff meeting. I trust you to keep matters silent in respect of Lily."  
  
James nodded. He stayed in the classroom for a few minutes after the Headmaster left. He felt so confused.   
  
He was angry because he didn't need all this extra pressure when he needed to study for exams. But he felt upset for Lily's loss, which brought back horrible memories that made him want to just break down, make him want to go home as well.  
  
*  
  
Lily had long since been finished her packing, which turned out to be quite the emotional experience. She felt as if her world was collapsing in front of her. Her parents gone, Lily had no idea what would happen to her and her sister. She was also beginning to realize that at that moment, she was taking her last glimpses of her beloved Hogwarts. Never again would she roam these halls with her friends on her way to classes, or eat in the Great Hall, or listen to certain professors drone on and on like she knew they often would.  
  
So there she stood, trunk on the floor, cloak in hand, staring around at the Front Entrance. She waved at a few paintings, who bid her a fond farewell, as well as giving their condolences to her loss. It was raining heavily outside.  
  
Lily opened her umbrella, and put on her cloak. She said a few words under her breath, and her trunk floated unaided beside her. She was unsure of what to do exactly. Dumbledore had told her that a train would be leaving Hogsmede for London in one hours time. Lily took one last look around, then - slowly making her way out the door, she began to hum the Hogwarts anthem quietly to herself.  
  
She shuddered as she heard the loud click of the door closing behind her.  
  
*  
  
James had finally made his way out of the classroom. He was hoping to find Lily so he could talk to her. It was when he was just entering the Front Entrance that he heard one of the massive oak doors closing. He narrowed his eyes.  
  
"If those students are sneaking outside again -" he said to himself. He walked quickly to the door and magicked it open. He saw someone walking slowly away from the school.  
  
He noticed and recognized the red hair, and he started yelling.  
  
"Lily!"  
  
Lily faltered for a moment. She had just then had an odd thought of someone calling her name. No, that was stupid. No one knew she was here, how could someone be calling for her. She kept walking.  
  
"Evans wait!"  
  
This time she stopped. Now she had definately heard something. She whirled around and saw someone with jet-black hair hurtling towards her at an amazing speed.  
  
James stopped and had to catch his breath before speaking.  
  
"What on earth are you doing?"  
  
"I need to talk to you-"  
  
"In the rain?"  
  
"No. I mean, yes. Oh, it doesn't matter that it's raining. Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened. My parents - well, I'm just really sorry." he paused, " I - I didn't want the last words I say to you to be from an arguement." he looked around at the rain-soaked grounds, " Well, I'll see you, then."  
  
He shook hands with a dumbfounded Lily before turning to make his way back up to the castle.  
  
"Hey, Potter!"  
  
He turned around. Lily was closing her umbrella.   
  
"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's raining." she said while doing so. "Catch."  
  
She todded him the umbrella, giving him a rare smile. He returned it, and reopened the umbrella. Lily brought the hood up from her cloak and placed it on her head, and walked faster towards Hogsmede to catch her train. James watched her until she was out of view, then - stuffing his free hand in his pockets, he made his way back up to the castle.  
  
**  
  
  
It was the day before graduation, a week from when Lily had left, and all the 7th years were bustling around in the Great Hall in their costumes. The rest of the school would begin filing in within minutes. Trelawney was in a downright panic. Arabella was pacing around a distressed James. Sirius was laughing at Remus, who was trying to practice his dance steps.  
  
All in all, things were going well. So well, in fact, that Trelawney had to step outide for a minute to compose herself.  
  
"Come on James, I don't want to be made a fool of if you mess something up. Now then, after I say my lines, you're supposed to start dancing with me. Like thus,"   
  
"So i'll be standing here, right?"  
  
"Yes. Siruis will be behind you - there - and he'll start talking about us while we pretend not to hear. When he says-"  
  
But she was drowned out by a sharp whistle sound. Every head in the Great Hall turned to find out what made the noise.  
  
Lily Evans brought her fingers out of her mouth and smiled at everyone. She was wearing khakis with a black turtleneck, and she had well worn runners on her feet. Her dress confirmed everyone's fleeting thoughts that she wasn't back for the last two days.  
  
Her face suddenly became very stern. Thinking that her entrance was enough as a 'hello', she began calling out instructions as she pointed to each individual.  
  
"Black, Lupin, backstage please! All of you over there, get into position on stage! You, get that curtain closed! You - get all these props to backstage! James, where are you supposed to be standing and why aren't you there yet? Arabella - come here for a sec."  
  
Arabella jumped off of the stage and gave Lily a huge hug.  
  
"How are you?"  
  
"Not bad. So how many things fell to pieces while I was gone?"  
  
"Too many. Thank God you're here, though. I was beginning to think you weren't coming back for Graduation!"  
  
"Oh, well - truth is - I'm here today to get my marks, and-" she said apprehensively, "to get my diploma."  
  
Arabella looked at her friend. "And to say goodbye, huh?"  
  
"Yes. But you don't need to say anything. I'll owl you lots over the summer and I promise we'll get together sometime soon, when things have quieted down a bit."  
  
Arabella looked angry, but she smiled and hugged her again. Lily followed her backstage as the student body began to noisily fill the hall.  
  
Lily was surrounded with people when she came backstage. Everyone was smiling at her and telling her about everything she'd missed in the last week. She shooed them away when the lights were dimmed, and gave everyone the thumbs-up as she receeded into the shadows to watch quietly.  
  
James had seen her come up to the stage, but he couldn't get close enough to speak to her. He was watching her out of the corner of his eye, but his mind strayed as the curtains rose and the bright stage lights shone in his face. He was now an actor in this play, and he gave it his very best. Not once did he make a mistake, which enthralled Arabella. Even those who really didn't want to be in the play were pulling off their characters quite well, and they seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly.  
  
When the last lines were said, the cast got a standing ovation from the crowd. All the 7th years took center stage for a final bow. Lily was among those clapping, and noticed James turn and look at her. She looked him in the eye and gave a small smile. She noticed that her clapping had slowed.She looked away from him quickly and caught other peoples' eyes and cheered for them.  
  
*  
  
"You guys were awesome! The play was brilliant. Honestly, it was a great performance. Have a great Graduation! Bye!"  
  
Lily was talking to the slow moving throng of students making their way off stage. They were all talking amongst themselves about their individual roles and how they thought they did.  
  
When the last of them had gone, Lily started the routine of cleaning up after everyone.  
  
"Ah, It's great to be back," she muttered under her breath.  
  
"We missed you too,"   
  
Lily nearly jumped out of her skin. She whirled around to see James picking up some stray props and putting them all on a table nearby. She couldn't speak.  
  
"So you're here for what? To see the play? To catch one last student breaking rules?"  
  
"Ha ha. I came to get my final marks and to get my diploma."  
  
James started laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Nothing. Only the fact that I got a higher mark than you in Transfiguration."  
  
Lily shook her head. "That may be, Potter, but I kicked your ass in Charms."  
  
"And I lead our Quidditch team to our 4th straight cup since I was on the team."  
  
"I seem to recall how I came in as a stand-in on the last game in 5th year, and how I scored 12 out of 13 goals made before you caught your snitch."  
  
"97% in Potions."  
  
"98."  
  
"102% in Arithmancy."  
  
"106%. I had a perfect exam, plus all correct bonus questions."  
  
"Rock Paper Scissors on three."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes but played along anyways. She lost with Scissors over Paper.  
  
"Ha! 98% in Divination. I knew you were going to pick that."  
  
Lily laughed. She picked up a few more things and brought them to the table where he stood. She turned and sat cross-legged on an empty space on it, and James leaned against it beside her, crossing his arms.  
  
"So you're not graduating with us tomorrow?"  
  
"No."  
  
There was a long pause in which they didn't look at each other.  
  
"Do you know what you're going to do after all this?" he asked.  
  
"Well, it's not for sure, but I was thinking of applying to a university a few hours from London. How about you?"  
  
"Not sure. I've looked into a few muggle universities, might apply to a few of them."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They both looked up at each other.  
  
"If worst comes to worst, we'll just come back and work here." he suggested.  
  
"Right."  
  
He held out his hand, and Lily grasped it. They shook hands as if to close the deal. Lily jumped down from the table and started walking towards the exit. She turned to face him while walking backwards.   
  
"I'll see you around, Potter."  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"I hate you too, Potter."  
  
"How did you -"  
  
"99% in Divination. I knew you were going to say that." 


	6. Wherein A Graduation Occurs

Good Riddance ::6::  
  
  
James was pacing in the common room in his pyjamas. Everyone else was asleep, but he had something on his mind. It was pouring rain outside again, but he was happy that it was. It suited his mood. He would have worn a trench clean around the fireside chairs had Sirius not come down at that moment and disrupted his thoughts.  
  
  
"James? What are you doing up?"  
  
"Can't sleep."  
  
"I see. Something on your mind?"  
  
"I'm just anxious about tomorrow - well, today. Later today. This afternoon. This eve-"  
  
"James."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Something else is bothering you. I've known you more than long enough to tell when it happens."  
  
"Nothing happened... I don't think. But did I want something to happen?"  
  
"Want something - but - thinking - not - what?" Sirius said, confused.  
  
"Of course not. No - no I didn't. Hah, thanks Sirius."  
  
"No - problem?"  
  
"None at all. None. Nada. Zip. Pas de probleme." James laughed. "Now I can graduate in peace. I can graduate without something that I didn't want to happen happening." he smiled at his bewildered friend and jogged up to his dormitory.  
  
Sirius was still sitting in his chair for a full minute and a half before trudging up the stairs and back to his dormitory. He went to bed hoping that his assumption as to the insanity of his best friend wouldn't interfere with his graduating tomorrow.  
  
*  
  
Lily couldn't believe what she was doing. At 2 o'clock in the morning, she was pacing the platform at Hogsmede. She hadn't missed her train, not on purpose anyways. Well, possibly on purpose, but at the same time, not really. It was as she was watching the train pull away from her that she wished she had actually gone home. Or had she? Thus, she was pacing.  
  
She could just imagine Petunia when she came home a day late. Her sister would probably have already begun stripping her bedroom bare in hopes that she would never return. It upset Lily how much she was dispised of by her own sister. Petunia had blamed her for the death of their parents. And deep down inside her head, Lily had the same idea. It was like a constant plague, and every time her sister glared in her direction, it intensified until it consumed her every mindpath.  
  
Something rustled in the bushes to her left. Lily raised her wand in instinct. After all, it wasn't the smartest idea she'd had to stand out here in the middle of the night.  
  
"Lumos." she muttered, and her wand tip ignited into a moderate light source. She held it high above her head in an attempt for it to light up a greater area.  
  
She felt like she was standing for an eternity. She had urges to just run across the bridge and into the town streets. Maybe a pub would still be open. She could ask for a place to stay and catch the next train tomorrow. Problem was, in order to get to the bridge, she had to pass the immense shrubbery that the noise had come from.   
  
Lily made up her mind, and began to move her foot when she heard a whisper behind her. Suddenly she was headed in the opposite direction, towards a shadowy figure. She tried with all her might to turn back, or stop for that matter, but she didn't even flinch. She recognized this at once. Lily was under an Imperius curse.  
  
Her knees thudded against the pavement, and Lily's mind knew at once that they were badly scraped from the rough texture of the platform. She wanted to get up, but she couldn't. The shadowy figure approached, and lowered its hood. Lily needed only to see the reflection of its blood red eyes to know that this, this was the one who had killed her parents.  
  
Her mouth twitched, and she could hear herself speak.  
  
"My lord."  
  
"Good girl. Now that I found you, I believe you could be of use to me."  
  
Lily wanted to spit out her next words.  
  
"Anything."  
  
"Excellent. You can prove useful to me and my quest. Your immense knowledge and your 'good natured' background would be undetectible by most out to find me. Yes, Lily Evans. Very useful. And since you so willingly accept my offer, I'll gladly give you a token in return."  
  
Lily was listening to this thing - this "Lord" while it spoke, and thoughts of her parents raced across her mind. She wondered, 'What last words did he say to them? What was the last things my parents heard before they -'  
  
"You inhuman MONSTER!" she cried out, rage beating through her temples. She was fighting this curse, because it obviously wouldn't have let her say such a thing.  
  
Voldemort looked temporarily taken aback.  
  
"Bad words - Punishable words." he said, and suddenly, Lily felt as though someone was twisting and grinding every bone in her body, tearing at her skin, ripping out her hair. As quickly as it had come, the feeling stopped. Lily was breathing in gasps as she pushed the cold sweat mingled with hot tears away from her face. Voldemort looked satisfied.  
  
"You will not speak to authority figures in that way, ever again."  
  
"Yes." Lily had been put back under the curse in her moment of weakness.  
  
"Now then, Lily Evans, you shall join my side. Do you agree?"  
  
"Ye-es."Lily said, desperately using every molecule to gain back her ability to overcome.  
  
"Thus, with a token of allegiance, I make thee a death eater."  
  
His wand began burning white hot at the tip. He was approaching Lily with an indescribable look on his face. Lily was shaking, but she could feel her left arm raise up on its own, palm facing upwards. Her inner wrist was exposed, and Voldemort's wand was getting ever closer to it. so close, that Lily could feel its heat radiating onto her bare skin.  
  
She could feel her face contorting as she gave all her strength to pulling away. She actually screamed out loud as the wand began to burn her skin to black. Voldemort was tracing what Lily recognized to be the Dark Mark.   
  
Lily was crying and screaming as he kept tracing. He seemed about halfway done when Lily was able to jerk her hand away. She fumbled for her wand.  
  
Voldemort was repeatedly trying to curse her again, but she was too deep in fury to even recognize it. She had finally found her wand, but was afraid that he would try and take it from her, so she put it away again.   
  
He used his wand to push her down off her feet, but as he approached her, she kicked out and tripped him. She scrambled to get up again, and began running as fast as she could towards the center of Hogsmede. Suddenly her feet were knocked out from underneath her and she fell to the ground, losing her breath.  
  
She could hear the soft clicking of Voldemort's shoes advancing on her. The shadow he created from a lamppost behind them told Lily that he was holding his wand in a ready position. Lily felt for her wand, and turned to face him.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."  
  
Lily held fast to her wand, even though it felt almost broken from the impact. She was defenseless.  
  
"Don't make another mistake Lily. One more would cost you your sister." he half grinned at her newest expression."Yes Lily, I did kill your parents. How utterly sad it was, to see their confused faces take their last breath. Do you know what I told them? Do you know what the last words ever spoken to them were?"  
  
Lily was crying, but she still held her wand. Her knuckles were white and her hand shook slightly. She had not once looked away from him. Not once.  
  
" 'Your daughter sends her love.' You see, Lily - their death, was - all - your - faul-"  
  
Lily didn't even have to speak.  
  
A burst of light erupted from her wand. However, this was not your run-of-the-mill 'Lumos' spell. What Lily had conjured was a beam of light not unlike one from the sun. It blinded Voldemort and he stumbled back, cursing. He was holding his hands over his eyes, still stumbling until he stopped dead.   
  
Lily heard the click of a door, and about 10 lights from neighbouring houses turn on. Approximately 5 voices began hollering in frustration to "stop that infernal light". Lily opened her eyes after she had stopped the spell coming out of her wand, and looked about her placement.   
  
Voldemort was gone.   
  
She looked down at her hand and saw the half-mark on her inner wrist, still throbbing with pain. She unrolled her sleeves and pulled them over her hands, then crossed her arms. She ran like this all the way back up the path to Hogwarts, and made her way through the halls and corridors to Dumbledore's office. She desperetely needed to speak to the Headmaster.  
  
*  
  
Arabella was sitting in her dorm. In 4 minutes, she'd make her way outside and down to the quidditch pitch, where they were having the ceremony. It seemed as though she had forgotten how to sit still. Her hands kept pushing nonexistant hair behind her ears or straightening out her robes. She fondly patted her knee-high socks.  
  
"Won't be missing you two..."  
  
With a final check in the mirror and a quick itch of her ankles, Arabella quietly closed the dormitory door behind her for the last time in her life.  
  
  
*  
  
James pulled on his tie and gave his attention to Dumbledore, who was handing out certificates to each individual seventh year.  
  
  
"Lily Evans." Dumbledore said, and stopped momentarily to look apprehensively at the roll of parchment. He set it gently aside from the others, and turned to the crowd. He cleared his throat.  
  
"Miss Evans is not able to join us today, and the school will be accepting this certificate on her behalf."  
  
Dumbledore blinked twice, then resumed the calling of names.  
  
James slipped back into his own world. 'I thought she already had her certificate. Didn't she say she was coming to get it when we had our play? What the heck?'  
  
He had little time to think before Sirius whapped him upside the head with his certificate.  
  
"He just called your name, Prongs. Geez."  
  
James stumbled out of the row of seats and walked quickly up to where Dumbledore was standing. He shook his hand, took the certificate, then faced the audience and raised his hands in a triumphant pose. He jumped off of the small platform and sprinted back to where Sirius was sitting. They gave each other a high five before sitting down.  
  
Dumbledore chuckled lightly before continuing with the last few people on the list. When he had at last ended, he gave a small speech before announcing the line everyone had been waiting for.  
  
"Congratulations! You have all successfully graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"  
  
All the students, or-more accurately - graduates erupted in cheers and laughter. They did the traditional toss of their well worn pointed hats, then began running around to congratulate each of their friends. Sirius jumped on James' back and they ran like maniacs through the crowd, Sirius screaming like a banshee and whacking more people with his certificate.  
  
*  
  
It was later that day, just after dinner, that James and sirius were walking through the halls of the school. Passers by were in complete shock to see the two in a quiet conversation.   
  
"So you might go to a muggle university?"  
  
"Maybe. I kind of have my hopes set on becoming an Auror, but that's a tough field to get in to. I don't know. Everything seems to have ended rather fast, and I'm still -"  
  
" - in a slight shock? Yeah, me too. I was also hoping to put in for Auror training. I have the summer to think it over."  
  
"I just can't get it out of my head that this is the last day here. Its been 7 years, and now that it's over, the only thing I really want is to be sitting in a Transfiguration class in first year. "  
  
"What's happening to us? Only yesterday we were watching the clock, trying to figure out how many more hours to go until we were out of this place. Why the sudden feelings?"  
  
"I guess that it only took a piece of rolled up parchment to become mature. Ironic."  
  
Sirius slung his arm around his best friend's neck.  
  
"If you don't owl me twice a day, I'll shave your head bald and paint it pink. Got it?"  
  
James slung his arm around Sirius' neck.  
  
"Is that a promise?"  
  
"You know it is."  
  
"I knew I could count on you."  
  
"I'll meet you, Remus and Peter at the train station in 10 minutes, I just have to go pull one last prank on Snape. Wanna come?"  
  
"Nah, I think I'll go say goodbye to Dumbledore or something. I'll see you at the train."  
  
"Okay, see you!"  
  
Sirius ran off and around a corner, and James could only imagine what his last prank would be. He made a mental note to ask him about it on the train. He skipped down the stairs, and heard something fall out of his pocket. It was his diploma.  
  
"Don't even, you have no idea what it took to get you."  
  
He bent to pick it up. Gazing at it for a moment, he realized that he hadn't even opened the thing to look at it. He sat down on the stairs and fumbled for a moment with the knotted ribbons before the parchment unravelled a bit from its tight roll. James pulled it open, and the first thing he noticed was another certificate inside of his. He lifted it up and read his diploma, which seemed regualr enough, and then proceeded to the second diploma.   
  
It looked identical to his, except it was more tightly wound, probably in an effort to fit inside of his. He fumbled with the second set of ribbons, and unravveled this parchment.  
  
'Congratulations,' it read, 'This certifies that Lily Evans has successfully completed 7 full years of-'  
  
But James didn't need to read the rest. He looked around him, expecting someone to be watching him. Moreover, he expected Dumbledore to swoop down on him and start talking to him in that odd, metaphorical way, somehow giving him a clue to what he didn't yet know.  
  
The staircase and hallways were empty. He narrowed his eyes and put his hand behind him on an upper stair.  
  
His hand touched parchment. He swiveled around and saw something very familiar. He picked up his battered map and opened it. His mind was racing, and he could barely think straight. It was bare, of course, but James had the instinct to reveal it.   
  
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." he recited, tapping the blank page. Lines shot out as hey always had, and James thought himself stupid to even activate the thing.   
  
He brought up his wand to wipe it clean, placing it randomly on the page. It fell on a peculiar mark, one that was slightly bigger than the rest. He was almost positive that he was hallucinating when the mark labelled itself as 'Lily Evans'. It was moving slowly back and forth in what James identified as her Dorm on the 6th floor. He looked at his dot. It was only inches from hers. On closer inspection, James realized that her dorm was only down the stairs from where he sat. He could just see the framework of her portrait-entrance.  
  
One thought disrupted his previous mindpath. That one thought made him run down the stairs. That one thought brought him skidding to a halt in front of the dragon picture.  
  
"Mockingbird, mockingbird!" he demanded, and the portrait swung open.  
  
In spite of his rushed manner, he slowed as he walked inside. It was there that he saw her, sitting still at the window, just looking quietly out at the grounds. She was in her Hogwarts robes, looking just as she did every other day for the past seven years.It was at that sight, at that one specific time on that one day, that James' feelings were confirmed.  
  
He couldn't even breathe.  
  
He moved his feet slowly, not taking his eyes off of her. Suddenly there was a loud thump as his toe hit the corner leg of her desk. Lily jumped at the noise and looked at the direction from which it came. She saw James, and stood up.  
  
"You're in the wrong dorm again."  
  
'No I'm not,' James thought, but thought better of it, pulling a roll of parchment from his pocket.  
  
It was her diploma. Lily's eyes went large as she stared at it.  
  
"I guess you forgot it last time, huh?"  
  
She glanced up at him before looking again at the parchment.  
  
"That's my -"  
  
"Yeah." James held it out for her to take. "Congratulations Evans."  
  
She looked up at him as she reached out her left hand to take it. She couldn't breathe.  
  
"Thanks Potter." she said, grasping it.  
  
"No problem. I thought you might need it, is all."  
  
"Right. Thanks again."  
  
Neither of them had let go of the paper yet. James realized this, and let go immediately. However, Lily noticed this at the same time,doing the same thing, which resulted in the paper dropping to the ground. They both laughed, and bent to pick it up. When they had both knelt on the floor, their faces were inches apart. They both looked at each other, and Lily grabbed the paper in a quick movement of her hand. They smiled and stood, standing closer than before. Their eyes hadn't strayed from one another.   
  
Lily grinned slightly, rolling her eyes in an expectant way while rising on to her toes. James grinned too, as their heads were now almost level, and they both leaned foreward. Their lips brushed for a split second when Lily felt a blast of excruciating pain on her inner left wrist. James was holding it ever so gently, but the act itself was almost enough to make her faint. She gasped and stepped backwards.  
  
James'eyes were darting from her face to her wrist as he approached with caution.  
  
"What's -"  
  
"I'm sorry James, oh god, I'm so sorry." she said, tears welling up in her eyes. She stumbled around him and burst out of the dorm.  
  
He stood there, bewildered. He sniffed deeply, blinked furiously, and could never have imagined that that was the last time he'd ever see Lily Evans for another eight years... 


	7. Baking Instructions. Read carefully befo...

Good Riddance ::7::  
  
Lily Evans was sitting at her desk at the London General Hosptal, looking over patient records. It had been eight years since she had graduated from Hogwarts, and since then, she had applied to several medical universities around muggle England. To her great surprise, not only did she do extremely well, but she now worked as the Head of Surgery at London General.   
  
Lily had also eased almost completely off of the wizard world. She only used magic when necessary, and even then she was reluctant to do so.  
  
So there she was, working endlessly on her records, hoping to have them done for tomorrow's rounds. Her neck became stiff, and she realized that she had been hunched over for the past hour and a half. She arched back, and turned her head both ways. She looked over the stack of books to the tiny sliver of window. It was a full moon, from what she could see. Suddenly something flew headfirst into her closed window, bounced back from it, and fell a few feet.  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes andn quickly got up from her desk. She (with great effort) pushed the stack of books to the side, and threw her weight on the ancient windowframe to open it. She stuck her head outside, and saw an owl with a rather large message tied to its leg. It was perched on a tree limb not far from her. Lily quickly looked around to make sure no one was walking around outside, and she gave a quick look around her office. She didn't hear anyone in the hall either.   
  
She held out her arm, and a few seconds later the owl perched itself lightly upon it. She brought herself inside, let the owl onto the desk, and went to shut and lock the door.  
  
"You're trying to get me in trouble, aren't you?" she asked the bird, who just blinked in reply. It held out it's leg. Lily sighed and went to untie it. She gave the owl a bit of bread from her late dinner, and it flew off into the night. Lily wondered who might be contacting her, since she didn't really know anyone of the wizard kind anymore. She pulled off the string and unravelled the letter.  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
I know it's going to sound weird after eight years of not talking to you (I'll be willing to forgive later, but anyways), but I feel that as my closest friend in the whole wide world, you'll be willing to do something for me. It's awkward to ask you this in a letter, so I'll be contacting you by floo-powder June 22nd at midnight. Don't worry, I'll find you. Can't wait!  
  
Arabella  
  
Lily's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Arabella was writing to her eight years since she had seen her last? And now she wanted something important? Lily skimmed the letter again. June 22nd at midnight. God, that sounded familiar. Lily looked at her calendar. Dear God. That was today. She looked at her clock. 3 minutes to midnight. Dear God in Heaven. In three minutes, her friend's head would poke out from that unused fireplace in the corner. Lily could only imagine what she'd look like now. She looked over at her workspace, and noticed for about the billionth time that it was a mess. She tried to organize it, but she hadn't so much as moved her pen before a great whoosh of flames could be heard in the fireplace.  
  
Lily didn't turn around. Part of her didn't want to. What if she'd changed? What if her news was horrible? What if-  
  
"Lily?"  
  
Too late. Lily spun around and thought she was about to cry when she saw Arabella's face, looking almost untouched from her last year at Hogwarts. Arabella looked about to cry as well. Lily was afraid to open her mouth incase she hiccuped and burst out into tears, so she gave a small wave. Arabella crawled out of the fire and stood up. She waved back.  
  
Lily laughed, but that one move caused the hiccup. Arabella mimicked Lily, and soon the two were laughing and crying and hugging. After a minute or so, they pulled apart, and Lily wiped her eyes with her lab coat sleeve. She sniffed.   
  
"Er, have a seat. Sorry about the mess, you caught me at work."  
  
Arabella looked at Lily, at her hospital nametag, at her long white coat and navy scrubs underneath.  
  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a muggle."  
  
Lily smiled as she rolled the chair out for her friend.  
  
"Here."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"So what's up?"  
  
Arabella jumped up from her seat as though it was made of fire.  
  
"Maybe you should have a seat instead."  
  
"That bad?"  
  
Arabella looked momentarily offended, but she started babbling like she used to.  
  
"Of course not. Now, don't you say a word while I'm talking, you can do that at the end. Okay, a few months ago, I met a guy. We really hit it off, and we have so much in common. He's a wizard, he's filthy rich - Oh my gosh Lils, I'm - I'm - I'm marrying him in two weeks and I need you to to be my maid of honour."  
  
She said the last part really fast, but was now looking Lily apprehensively in the eye. Lily looked blank, before snapping out of her trance, and nodded quickly.  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"Oh, Lily you're the best! Make sure you get the next week off, I'll owl you a few days from now and give you the details. Oh, you're the absolute best!"  
  
Arabella almost skipped into the fire. Lily was still smiling, before the now obvious question popped out of her mouth.  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
  
*  
  
  
Lily spoke with her colleagues, and arranged the next 2 weeks off. She told her patients who would be taking care of them and who would be treating them until she got back. As a special bonus, her closer coworkers managed to get her off work a few days ahead of schedule. They told her she needed it after never taking a vacation for the past 4 years. It was the least they could do.  
  
So now she was at her appartment, sitting on top of the laundry machine, hemming an old sweater that she had owned for the past 4 years. She had gotten it just after being hired at London General. She heard something flapping around her celing. She looked up and saw the same owl that had delivered Arabella's letter. Lily whistled for it's attention, and it dropped it's letter onto her lap before flying out the open window.   
  
Lily opened it like a child at Christmas.   
  
Lily,  
  
Just like I promised. Now I know this will be sligtly hard seeing as how it's today and all, but here's what you need to do.  
I know you're dedicated to muggle like things, so I'm telling you to board the plane, leaving at 7 p.m. today (your ticket is included) and we'll meet you at the terminal at 8:30. Don't miss your plane! See you tonight.  
  
Arabella  
  
  
'For goodness sake.' thought Lily. 'She's got a thing for the present time, huh?' She hopped off her dryer, and got down on her hands and knees to look underneath. She wedged her hand underneath and pulled out a very dusty wand.  
  
"Gotcha. Yes, I know I shouldn't be using you, but I need the extra time."  
  
Lily blushed off the excess dust and waved it around as if she was fresh out of Hogwarts.   
  
"Still got it." she said, and walked over to her closet. One wave, and it opened. She waved it again, and her suitcase floated up on to her bed, and opened itself. She flicked her wrist, and clothes floated one by one, and neatly placed themselves inside the black suitcase. Lily smiled.  
  
"That'll do, wand, that'll do." She set it down beside her backpack, and went to take a shower.  
  
20 minutes later, Lily was dressed and putting on her runners. She tossed her backpack over her shoulders, put on her sunglasses, and grabbed her suitcase. She patted the plane ticket in her pocket, and reached acros the table for her wand.  
  
'No sense in taking the car,' she thought, and said "Apparatum."   
  
*  
  
Truth be told, Lily felt guilty for just using magic like that. She also hated muggle travel. Planes were the absolute worst, but Arabella had gone through the trouble to get her a ticket, so she had to tolerate the thing.  
  
The hour and a half passed slowly, but Lily kept a straight face as she was elbowed, shoved, squished, and climbed over.  
  
An hour and a half later, Lily was dragging her suitcase behind her, hair falling out of its barrette, with a tea stain on the side of her khaki pants. She wasn't in the best of moods. She squinted though the crowd, trying to see any sign of blonde.   
  
"Excuse me," she said, squeezing though a small group. She silently groaned as someone ran their suitcase trolley over her foot.   
  
"Lily! Over here!"   
  
Lily thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her, making her believe that her name was being called over the hundreds of others doing the same thing. She was jerked back to life as someone pulled on her hair. She turned aroun, ready to give her two cents to whomever had done it, but she was met with Arabella's smiling face.  
  
Arabella saw Lily's hair, pants, and her untucked shirt sticking out from under her black sweater.  
  
"How was the plane?"  
  
Oh, wonderful. It's nice to know they don't skimp on comfort." she said, re-adjusting her backpack straps.  
  
"Here, hold on to my suitcase for a sec, I need to re-tie my shoes."  
  
Arabella bit her lip, and haphazardly tried to grasp her suitcase. Lily bent down, and it was there that she saw another suitcase that wasn't her own. Abandoning her shoe, she stood up to face her friend.  
  
"What might that be?"  
  
"Oh, oh this? Oh, well, it's my suitcase. I - I'm going to get my parents for the wedding. They're muggle, so they're not partial to floo-powder. They're coming back with me on the plane."  
  
"So, what am I-"   
  
Lily's voice was drowned out by a small crash nearby. She looked over her shoulder after Arabella seemed quite interested in who was involved.  
  
"Sorry, so sorry." came a male voice. Lily thought it sounded oddly familiar. She turned and saw a tall man with jet-black hair walking towards her, back turned, still muttering apologies. He turned, and stopped two feet from Lily.   
  
Lily's heart stopped. James was looking back at her, and she saw that he had barely changed. Still had the messy black hair, he was wearing sunglasses, and still a few inches taller than she was. But now he had a bit of a bristly chin. He tore his eyes away from hers, and looked at Arabella, who had appeared at his side.  
  
She kissed his cheek and held his hand.  
  
"Lily, meet my fiance, James."  
  
Lily was still staring at him, expressionless. She held out her hand.  
  
James grasped it, and they shook for two seconds before letting go. Lily looked at Arabella.  
  
"So James will help you with your bags. You guys will be meeting Sirius and Remus up at the cabin later today, yes?" James nodded, smiling at her. "Great. I'll be back in four days with the rest of my flock. Promise me you won't kill each other before I get back, okay? Lils, I left your dress in your bedroom, owl me when you've tried it on. I'll see you both soon!"   
  
Arabella kissed James again, and went to give Lily a hug.   
  
"I would have told you sooner, but I wanted it to be a surprise." she whispered in her ear.  
  
"It's fine." Lily whispered back.  
  
Arabella smiled at them both before running off down the terminal.  
  
Lily tightened her grip on her suitcase, thanking herself for not screaming out loud in frustration.   
  
James just looked at her again.  
  
"The car is this way." he said, and began walking towards the exit.  
  
Lily followed wordlessly behind him. It was in the parking lot that James spoke again.  
  
"It wasn't my idea for you to come."  
  
"I gathered as much. And thanks for the comment."  
  
"You're very welcome."  
  
"And yet it doesn't feel that way."  
  
"I should hope so." Lily looked up at the sky. Grey clouds were churning and she could see lightning in the distance. 'Good.' she thought, 'The thunder will drown out his voice.'   
  
It then began to rain, lightly at first, but a clap of thunder brought a sudden downpour. Lily felt like tossing her suitcase at his neck, but its weight wouldn't let her. They were both soaked when they reached the rather expensive looking SUV. James brought the keys from his pocket, and unlocked the trunk. It opened, and Lily pushed his hand off of the suitcase handle.  
  
"I'm fine."   
  
James just nodded angrily and went up to the the front of the car.  
  
Lily took off her backpack and tossed it in. She pulled on the suitcase and managed to get it in with one try. She stepped back to close the trunk door when she heard the whoosh of the engine as it started. Lily went around to the side and climbed in the back seat. She flat out refused to sit next to him.   
  
He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway. No one spoke, and not even the radio was on as they drove. It was a few minutes in when James fiddled with the buttons at the front, and a sudden whoosh of cold air caught Lily in the face.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
James smiled and saluted her through the rear-view mirror.   
  
After that episode, they once again drove in silence. Lily felt like napping, but she didn't trust James to not turn her hair bright pink while she was asleep. So she sat staring out the window, watching the scenery of rolling hills and big, rocky mounds being coated with rain. She was suddenly pitched foreward when the car abruptly began to stop. She looked in front of them on the highway, and only saw an endless stretch that lay before them. Nothing out of the ordinary. Behind them, she saw nothing as well.   
  
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.  
  
James pulled on to the side of the road, before undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car. He walked around the front and over to her side. Lily could see that his eyes were narrowed when he took off his sunglasses. He threw open her door and climbed in beside her.  
  
Lily just looked at him like he had suddenly gone crazy.  
  
"Why did you leave?" he asked, not looking away from her.  
  
"Don't. Don't ask." she said, her voice little more than a whisper.  
  
"Why the hell not? You make me think that you have feelings for me, and then you just up and leave for eight years and come back as my fiancee's maid of honour. That's eight years, Evans, if you didn't get it the first time. Eight years since you walked out of your dorm, leaving me -"  
  
Lily cut him off, saying something that just made her stomach twist.  
  
"You never followed me."  
  
James looked at her for a full minute, swallowed, cleared his throat and nodded before putting his sunglsees on and getting out of the car again. Lily went back to staring out the window, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.   
  
James put his seatbelt back on, and said "Fine." before pulling back onto the road.  
  
*  
  
When they arrived at their destination, Lily got out of the car and grabbed her things. She followed 10 strides behind James inside the huge 'cabin' where they would be staying. It looked more like a mansion, but it had the rustic look to it, with a large peaked roof, and it overlooked a beautiful lake. Lily saw a modest dock just behind a far corner of the house. She smelled the fresh air with a bit of soft pine smell to it.   
  
Lily snapped out of her trance when she heard James clear his throat angrily from the front steps. She didn't say anything, but she walked inside. He let the door slam closed behind her as he walked off to the kitchen. Lily felt her arms growing tired from the weight of her belongings, so she set them down with a gentle thud.  
  
"Up those stairs, and last room on the left." she heard James say from the kitchen.   
  
'What stairs?' Lily thought, frustrated by the wet hair in her eyes and trying to lift her backpack at the same time. She strode out into the living - room type main area, and noticed the cathedral celings and a huge window overlooking the back porch and an amazing view of the lake. She spun slowly around, looking at the inside of the cabin, and saw the set of stairs that led to a loft area . From there she could see four dark brown doors. She shifted the weight of the bag, and climbed the stairs.  
  
She burst into her room, and noticed its large size and rustic decor. She dropped her things by a large closet door, and went to open the curtains at the window. Even the dull grey light from outside made the room look impressive.   
  
Lily knew at once that this was going to be a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the O.R. at London General. She changed into a pair of dry jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She left her hair the way it was, since she couldn't untangle the knot it had formed around the tie. She put on a pair of soft cotton socks and ventured back downstairs.  
  
She could hear James in the kitchen still, and noticed the dark yet polished hardwood floors. She was hesitant, tracing an indecipherable pattern on the floor with her toe. Giving up dignity, she backed up, ran a few steps, then slid across the floors, and right into the kitchen. Accidentaly, she had hit James as he walked past the doorway, holding a bag of flour.  
  
The flour slipped momentarily from his hands, but the amount of what had escaped was enough to cover the both of them plus the kitchen in white.  
  
They were both sitting on the floor, back to back, unable to process what had happened.  
  
Lily cleared her thoat silently. "So, what do you do?"  
  
James still sat there, until she could feel his shoulders begin to shake, then a spasm of laughter came out through the silence and settling flour.  
  
Lily smiled, and laughed at the sight of her flour covered socks. She could see the beginnings of dinner on the counter above her, and felt a pang of guilt at it being ruined by her immaturity.   
  
She felt James stop leaning on her and heard him standing up.   
  
"Auror," he said, holding out his hand to help her up. 


	8. Standard Predicament

Good Riddance :: 8 ::  
  
Lily looked apprehensively at James, as she wondered if he'd notice her as she better fixed the left shirt sleeve. Better not risk it. She tried to look innocent, and politely ignored his outstretched hand.  
  
'Oh, please say something, anything. Just break the silence, Lily.' she thought to herself.  
  
"That's great."   
  
'Oh, perfect. Now he'll really be lost. Geez.'  
  
"I thought so." he said, letting his hand drop to his side. "You?"  
  
"Oh, n-not much. Just working -"  
  
But someone was knocking at the door. Lily could have passed out from relief.   
  
"I'll clean up if you want to get that." she said, turning away from him so he wouldn't see her smiling.  
  
"Yeah, sure." he walked off, and a few moments later, Lily could hear slightly muffled "Hey!" 's and "How you doing?" 's coming from the foyer. She cleaned quicker, but the flour became all chunky and gooey as she tried to wipe it with a wet cloth. Cursing inwardly, she casually tossed the cloth in the garbadge, and was about to bring out her wand when she jumped ten feet from a loud exclamation of "LILY!" just behind her. She whirled around and saw Sirius Black, James' best friend since anyone could remember. He looked only slightly older, but just as mature as he did at Hogwarts. He suddenly looked angry, and began waving a finger at her impatiently.  
  
"You've never called. Could have dropped off the planet and I'd have been none the wiser. You've got a lot of explaining to do, or I'll dump you in yonder lake."  
  
"Aww, Black attempts to make a threat."  
  
"Fails horribly."  
  
James and Remus had now entered the room, James looking as if the incident with the flour had never happened. Lily saw the handle of a wand sticking out of his pocket, and cursed him for making her look like a complete idiot.   
  
Remus spoke again.  
  
"James, maybe you shouldn't let Lily bake anything."  
  
At this, Lily brought out her wand. Sirius was already laughing. She pointed her wand at Remus.  
  
"I can bake perfectly well Lupin. If you knew what had happened,"  
  
Sirius laughed harder. Lily sighed in an aggrivated way before waving her wand at herself and then around the kitchen. Both became instantly clean. She scolded herself subconsciously for using magic like that.  
  
After a dinner of pizza ordered from the neighbouring town, Lily explained that she was going up to her room for the rest of the night. She was quite tired, but she figured that she could take it as an opportunity to squeeze in some paperwork.   
  
Lily opened her suitcase and lifted out her clothes to find her slim laptop. She flicked it on, and tried opening a file, when a small message popped up on the screen:  
  
"Stop that." it read, she pressed the small okay button, unsure of why her computer was acting this way. Another message appeared;   
  
"You're on vacation, you're ahead of schedule on your work anyways. Stop being such a bloody workaholic and enjoy your damn vacation. Can't wait till you get back! ~ L.General O.R. Staff"  
  
Lily laughed out loud, then realized that it was a bit louder that she would have liked. She shut her laptop and put it back in her suitcase. And quietly made her way to the door to check and see if the landing was clear.  
  
Her door swung open a crack, and Lily was comforted to see that she was alone. There were no lights on in the living room, only the soft glow of a fire that her fellow vacationners were seated in front of down in the living area. She could hear them deep in conversation with each other. Apparently they were already mid conversation.  
  
"I never agreed to having her here, Bella just kept insisting. Then she goes and makes her the maid of honour, and I have to keep my mouth shut and accept it."  
  
"Everything will work out, James. They're best friends, you can't expect Bella to just take anyone else."  
  
"But she's been gone for eight years Remus. Eight years! Bella finds her name on some old school stuff, and suddenly it's like we're fresh out of Hogwarts."  
  
"Does she know about yours and Lily's incident at Graduation?"  
  
"Of course not. Only you two know. And her. Besides, that's insignificant."  
  
Lily didn't want to listen anymore. She closed the door soundlessly, and threw her face into her pillow to drown out the sobs. The conversation kept on going throughout, however.  
  
"Do you know why she left?"  
  
"She never said."  
  
"James, when exactly did you meet Arabella after Hogwarts?"  
  
"What? What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
Remus just stared at him.  
  
"God, maybe 6 years, 7 at most. Why?"  
  
"Was that 6 or 7 years after you stopped thinking about Lily? Give or take a few years?"  
  
"Where is this coming from? Remus, I think you had a bit too much cheese on your slice of pizza."  
  
"Was it when you met Arabella that you forgot Lily? Was there someone else even before her?"  
  
"Remus," Sirius said, in a tone warning not to press the subject.  
  
Remus, however, didn't notice. "When did you stop thinking of Lily?"  
  
James had long since buried his head in his hands. He was massaging his temples, trying to make the throbbing go away. If he was going to be this stressed for the next few days...  
  
"James, if you can tell me that you stopped thinking of Lily at any point in the past 8 years onward, I can promise you that there's nothing to worry about."  
  
James searched his brain, before having a breakthough. The look in his eyes told Remus that anxiety was indeed running high in that man's head.  
  
*  
  
Lily awoke late the following day, and lazily tossed her legs onto the floor. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, and tossed a housecoat over her shoulders.She was about to head downstairs, when she remembered what Arabella had told her before she left. Lily, now wide awake, hurried over to the large armoire and threw open its doors.   
  
She reached out her hand and touched the soft silk of her dress. It was a deep shade of green, simply cut, and very much the sophisticated style of Lily. There was a pair of matching shoes at its base, almost no heel, just the way she preferred. Lily saw a note sticking out from one shoe.   
  
  
Lily,   
  
I knew you'd like this dress, even though it's a far cry from what I had in mind to begin with. If it doesn't fit, you can alter it with your wand. Eek! Can't wait to see you, I'll be there soon!  
  
Arabella  
  
  
Lily set the note aside and bit her lip. She surveyed the dress for the thousandth time, before pulling it off it's hanger and carrying it into the bathroom along with the shoes. She emerged 5 minutes later, afraid of looking in the mirror. She paced quickly, careful not to let her eyes roam to her adjacent reflection. Finally, Lily sighed deeply, shut her eyes tight, and stepped up to the mirror.  
  
What she saw made the years working at a hospital seem non-existant. The dress itself made her eyes look like emeralds, and not tired and pale green from the bright operating lights. Her hair appeared more auburn than the flat red that poked out of her blue cap. She looked taller, with the slight heels replacing the aged runners of usual wear.  
  
Someone knocked on the door, and Lily only had enough time to toss her housecoat on again before James' head emerged from the doorway. Lily cursed inwardly.  
  
"When exactly did you plan on getting u-"  
  
He stopped as he noticed the dark green skirt under the grey housecoat.  
  
"What are you wearing?"  
  
Lily tried to look as if she hadn't a clue what he was talking about. She failed.  
  
"Arabella left it for me to try on."  
  
"Oh," he said, still standing in the doorway. "That's the dress she was talking about."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh,"  
  
Lily rolled up and down on her heels. "So,"  
  
"So,"  
  
"I'll be downstairs in a minute."  
  
James seemed to snap back to reality.   
  
"Just don't take 5 hours."  
  
Lily was about to hurl a comment at him, but Sirius burst through the doorway, making them both jump.  
  
"Party?"  
  
"No party."  
  
"Shoot."   
  
Sirius pretended to be upset, hanging his head low. He saw the green skirt, and looked up again.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Lily shifted her weight and rolled her eyes at the same time.  
  
"My dress."  
  
Sirius mimicked her movement, over exaggerating as always.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"The wedding."  
  
"Is it? Oh, let's see then."  
  
"No, I don't think so."  
  
"Aww, come on. We'll see it anyways at the wedding."  
  
"Exactly. So what's your hurry?"  
  
"Don't be so shy, it's just a dress. Or is it a special dress, like with big lacy puffed sleeves?"  
  
"No," she said, laughing.  
  
"Oh, good. I was afraid we'd match."  
  
Lily laughed harder. James just rolled his eyes, leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.  
  
"Come on James, help me out here a bit."  
  
James just smiled and shook his head slightly.  
  
"Fine." Sirius stopped for a moment to think, then dropped down on his knees and flung his arms around her calves. "Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please?"  
  
"Oh for heavens sake," Lily said, trying to stay standing at the same time. She pulled her arms out of her housecoat and draped it over her elbow. "There, see?" She twirled slowly on the spot.  
  
Sirius sat back on his heels. "You know, that doesn't look half bad."  
  
Lily just sighed and tossed her housecoat on again. Sirius took it at a moment to look sideways at James. He saw James looking at Lily, mouth only slightly open. James caught himself in half a second, and returned to his previous state.  
  
Sirius stood up. "Well," he said, giving Lily a bow, "You look lovely. James, we're out of canned tuna, so me and Remus are going shopping for fishing rods. We'll be back later. Maybe we'll pick up some marshmallows. See you guys."  
  
James just nodded, and without even a backwards glance, shut the door behind him.  
  
Lily didn't think twice about it, but proceeded to the bathroom to change. That done, she looked at herself in the mirror again. She did a double-take at her reflection. The emerald-green eyes, auburn hair and tall appearance hadn't left. 'Must be the fresh air.' she thought, and left her room.  
  
*  
  
The afternoon had gone by quietly, with the sun's warmth still lingering low on the ground. Lily yawned and went back up to bed once the sun had set. James didn't say anything.  
  
Lily climbed into bed, and folded her arm under the pillow to prop up her head. She fell asleep for what seemed like the duration of a wink before a searing pain shot across her wrist. This woke her up immediiately, and she caught the numbers on the clock as reading 2:34 a.m., as she clambered noiselessly out of bed. She swiftly made her way to the bathroom and used her elbow to flick on the light. She used her right hand to turn the cold tap on just enough to give a slight relief to the quickly blackening mark on her inner wrist. She cursed silently, before "No way. Not here."  
  
The mark and it's deepened colour meant that Voldemort was nearby, and that he was calling a meeting. Lily had dismissed the "call to order" once before, and had suffered though the Cruciatus curse for a full minute and a half. By the end of it she couldn't even breathe, which didn't regulate until after Voldemort kicked her in the stomach several times. She was left there, Voldemort and two of his stronger followers at his sides. He left her with a threat that if she ever disobeyed him again, the punishment would be far greater than this.  
  
Lily was ashamed to admit that she hadn't missed a meeting since, but even though she attended these, she was never a part of any harm brought to innocence. She was excellent at lying to the death eaters, and they stayed off her back, never asking any questions or pressing a subject. Then again, there had only been one meeting since her first punishment.  
  
Her mind was racing, and the tap water didn't seem to be helping anymore. She turned it off, and wiped the beads of sweat from her face. Lily clicked the switch and was immersed in darkness, but she remembered where the window in the room would be. Her fingers skimmed over the latch, and there was a soft click as she unlocked it. It was a huge frame, and it squeaked as she eased it open. Once she was able to fit through, she clambered from the sill to one of the closer branches of a nearby tree.   
  
Lily's heart was pounding as she climbed down the tree, extracting her wand from her shirt sleeve as she reached the bottom. In a few well said words, she was now wearing a heavy cloak that hung over her head, almost blinding her from seeing what was in front of her. She placed her wand in a pocket of the cloak, and silently ran into the depths of the surrounding woods.  
  
Two floors above and behind her, James awoke, swearing that he heard someone's window creak open... 


	9. The Significance Of Being Dormant

Good Riddance :: 9 ::  
  
James rubbed his eyes before putting his glasses on. Dragging his feet lazily across the floor, he reached the door and opened it to reveal the landing beyond. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He walked cautiously up to each door, pressing his ear up against them in hopes of hearing which room's window had in fact been opened, if that was what he had heard. Nothing from Sirius' room, or Remus'. Lily's room also gave no evidence of an opened window. It was when he was turning back to his bedroom that he felt a cold whoosh of air stream out from under the door. His eyes narrowed, and he pressed his ear flat against the door again.  
  
"Damn these thick doors," he muttered to himself. He knocked softly, even though he was already turning the handle. When James stepped into the room, he noticed the window had in fact been opened. Taking a few steps foreward, he also saw that Lily was missing from her bed. He sprinted to the bathroom and clicked on the light. The faucet dripped occasionally, but that was it. He went back to the window and stuck his head outside.  
  
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt a wave of goosebumps travel down his arms. His next movements were cause of instinct. He almost flew back to his room, grabbing his wand from his bedside table and a cloak that was draped over a chair. Once he was back on the landing, he saw Sirius emerging from his room, fully dressed as well. Sirius said nothing, but held up his wand as he raised his eyebrows.  
  
James nodded, and they both crept downstairs. Once they were outside, James spoke in half a whisper.  
  
"Lily's not in her room, and her window was open. I looked outside when that sense just kicked in."  
  
"That's what woke me up. Something immediately didn't feel right." Sirius commented. The two draped cloaks over themselves, blending in with the surrounding darkness.  
  
James and Sirius had kept in excellent touch with each other since Hogwarts, and they had both gone on to pursue a career of Aurors. They were the best in the buisiness, and even Alastor Moody, their instructor, had called them 'naturals'. They were only a promotion away from becoming Unspeakables.  
  
Sirius preformed a complex spell that allowed them to communicate without speaking aloud, unless, of course, they chose to do such. It resembled a mind reading phenomena. It took years to master it.   
  
Suddenly James was treated to Sirius humming a James Bond-type theme. It was funny to watch, since neither of them was making any noise, but Sirius was making sudden jerky movements.  
  
James rolled his eyes, but payed close attention to passing detail. Something was definately bothering him now. With every step, his annoying headache progressively became a throbbing pain.  
  
Sirius' humming soon died, as he too understood what this feeling meant.  
  
They were close. Now all they had to do was listen. James found a notch between two trees. He wedged himself in. Sirius found a spot between a bush and an evergreen. Not the most comfortable hideout, but it hid him well.  
  
'James,'  
  
'What?'  
  
'What's your status?'  
  
Sirius. Tries to be so professional.  
  
'Notch between trees. Funny smell. You?'  
  
'Between an evergreen and a bush. Pinecones. See anything?'  
  
'Nothing yet. But that sense is really strong. We have to be close.'  
  
'I think I know your whereabouts. We're a tad farther apart than we thought. 20 feet or so.'  
  
'Hmm. It's not wise to move now. Sense getting stronger.'  
  
'Same here. Holy sh-'  
  
James noticed it too. Their eyes had grown affixed to the darkness, and they could see approximately 18 or so hooded figures silently striding into the moderate clearing between each other.  
  
'We're outnumbered.'  
  
'And then some.'  
  
'No way we can pull this off just the two of us.'  
  
Sirius began humming the theme song again.  
  
'Stop it. Now think logically.'  
  
'How could we make any outside contacts?'  
  
James closed his eyes and thought hard. His eyes popped open.  
  
'Argus Filch.' he thought aloud to Sirius.  
  
'Finally. I thought you'd never shut up.'  
  
'Oh, sorry. I'll try to think slow enough for you to-'  
  
'James shut it. What about Filch?'  
  
'He owns a cottage just 2 away from mine. If we could-'  
  
James thought again.  
  
'Would you cut that out?'  
  
'Sorry. I thought we could use the Fegorium Charm.'  
  
'So I heard.'  
  
'But by the time he gets here-'  
  
'Exactly. Oh, shoot. They've started without us. How rude.'  
  
'Keep your thoughts down, I'm trying to hear.'  
  
The group had by then formed a ring, standing shoulder to shoulder, an effort to maximize a sound barrier between them and the surrounding area. James brought his head out within a safe distance to hear better.   
  
One of the cloaked figures was gazing at the rest of the group. Sirius noted that this figure was surrounded by the larger and more intimidating-looking eaters. He squinted.  
  
Suddenly the same figure spoke.   
  
"We are all accounted for."  
  
'Holy shit.' thought James and Sirius in unison. They both recognized the voice at once.   
  
It was Voldemort.  
  
'James, Fegorium charm. This is it. If we nail this one, this is it.'  
  
James could have smiled were it not for the situation at hand. He knew what his best friend was talking about. Promotion. They could be Unspeakables come Tuesday if they got so much as a date, a place, even a description. He held his breath.  
  
James brought his wand noiselessly out of his cloak pocket, and he communicated to Sirius to do the same. They muttered words under their breath, so softly that not even a passing insect would hear them. James traced words onto his forearm, while simultaneously, the same words appeared on Argus Filch's forearm.  
  
Argus was piecing together a rather complex puzzle at the time. He jumped at the prickling sensation on his arm, and rolled back his shirt sleeve to read the freckle-resembling message as if it were the most normal phenomenon to happen to anyone.  
  
"Potter and Black at clearing to left of your cottage," he read. "Witnessing a death - eater meeting. Voldemort is here." he rolled up his other sleeve to reveal another message. Probably from Black.  
  
"Get help. Counted 18 D.E's including Big V. Get here A.S.A.P. . No need to R.S.V.P."  
  
Argus sat up so suddenly that several puzzle pieces scattered over on to the floor. He ran to the empty fireplace, using his wand to start a fire, and threw his whole pot of floo-powder into it. It blazed green. He dropped to hands and knees and thre his head into it's depths. With that amount of floo powder, he was able to contact everyone on his network. All of whom were Aurors.   
  
"Code Red! Code Red! Apparate to 6064 Kindlewood Drive, Warren Lake."   
  
He pulled his head out of the fireplace and was met with 20 Aurors, all looking at him soundlessly, waiting for further instruction.   
  
Argus told them clearly where Sirius and James were hiding. He supposed that they could get as close as the boulder gethering, getting them as close as 6 feet to their fellow colleagues. Everyone nodded, and donned their cloaks.   
  
  
Meanwhile, James and Sirius were listening in on the conversation of the ring.  
  
"It has been four years since our last meeting. My powers have gotten stronger from the last battle, and I feel that it is only a matter of time before I gain full dominance. That fool Dumbledore will fall." Voldemort paused. James was clenching and unclenching his fists. "He falls first. Then others. Many others. You will all be rewarded for your loyalty. I have chosen and devised a final strategem. All of you must partake in this, and it will be exhausting for each, but the consequences will far outweigh the hardships.What I -"  
  
He stopped.It sounded as if someone had pressed mute.  
  
"I smell the blood of the enemy." he whispered, more to his adjacent guards than to the group, although all heard, including James. "I smell their blood, and the scent is strong. There are many...DEPART!" He bellowed, and the ring broke, running like the wind in all directions.   
  
James shot out of his hiding place 4 seconds before any other Aurors did. He was furious, and ran after Voldemort. He had to dodge curses and body binds, but his years as a seeker taught him how to move quickly. Voldemort glanced back, and James only saw the corner of a blood red eye, before he apparated. Around him, other Death Eaters did the same. Only a few remained, unable to perform the spell as they moved so quickly. He sped after one who was in the lead. Others died back, and James heard them being trapped by his other aurors.   
  
Each time he sped up, his adversary did the same.The chase went on for some time, before James realized that they were getting into more familiar territory. He could see his cottage in the close and coming scenery.   
  
The Death Eater veered down his back yard and onto the dock. They were slowing now, and James sped up, even though his legs screamed out in protest.  
  
The Death Eater was fumbling for their wand, dropping it onto the edge of the dock. It stooped to pick it up, when James yelled out "Stop!" . It lifted its head, and James got a momentary glimpse of Lily's face. He was so shocked that he forgot to stop his legs from moving, and they both tumbled into the water with a great splash.   
  
Lily didn't even hit the water before she tried to swim away. Her heavy cloak weighed her down like a ton of bricks on her shoulders, and she found that she couldn't surface. She would run out of air in a matter of moments. Suddenly a hand grasped her left wrist and pulled her upwards. She broke the water and breathed heavily, before she remembered why she was in the water. She looked at James, who looked so furious and yet so confused, meeting his eyes for a second before splashing him in the face and pulling free of his grasp. She swam haphazardly in anydirection that would get her away from him.   
  
She felt him grab on to her cloak, and he pulled her back. She pulled her hands free of the garment and swam with more ease and speed. James let go of the cloak and let it sink, while he sped right after her. He caught up to her after just a few strokes, and pulled her shoulder again. She swung around and faced him. Now he just looked angry. He brought his arm up, and Lily had a terrifying thought that he'd hit her, but he splashed her in the face with just as much water as she hit him with.  
  
Lily coughed, and was about to mimick him, but thought better of it. She just breathed hard, lungs about to burst from the intense physical movement she had just partaken in. James spoke.  
  
"What the hell is this? What ARE you, for christ's sake?With him? What the bloody hell is this?"  
  
Lily looked at him, and looked like she was about to start talking on several occasions, but after a moment her lip trembled and hot tears spilled from her eyes. She couldn't look at him.   
  
If she could, she would see him extracting a small vial of clear liquid from a chest pocket in his robes. He held it in front of him.  
  
"It's Veritaserum. I have every right to use it, and you know I do."  
  
Lily closed her eyes.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Lily didn't open them. She kept thinking about what she'd say if he used it, and even if he didn't, what would happen to her? She opened her eyes. She was terrified.  
  
James popped the vial open.  
  
"Open up." he said.  
  
"And if I tell you anything?"  
  
"Then we'd be getting somewhere." he said, and spilled the whole vial into her mouth when she least suspected it. Her last looks were as if she was so frightened, and James felt a pang of guilt in the back of his head. Suddenly her eyes went glassy, and they fixed on a point somewhere over his shoulder. She didn't move.  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"Yes." she said, in a monotonous voice. The potion had taken effect.  
  
James thought for a moment. "How long have you been a death eater?"  
  
"Since I was seventeen."  
  
"Were you still in school?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
James stopped. He was completely at loss for words. Except for one.  
  
"How?"  
  
Lily blinked.  
  
"I was going home early, because I was upset. Voldemort killed my parents. I was angry. I was scared for my sister. I wanted to go home and protect her. Wanted to go home and cry. Can't cry at school. People watching. People talking. Wanted to go home. Missed my train, but I did that on purpose. I was confused. Stayed on the platform until late at night. Maybe morning. I thought I heard something. Got scared, performed lumos spell. I was about to go into town, but then he was there. Voldemort. I heard his shoes. They clicked. He did the imperius curse. Made me fall. He made me speak, made me agree to do things at his will."  
  
Lily stopped. Subconsciously, she knew what she was saying. Physically, she couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth. Her mind was searching at drastic measures to stop the truth. She wanted to cover her ears, not listen to those memories. They took her years to forget, at least put behind her. To have it all come back at once caused a fresh flow of tears to fall down her face. She even stopped talking. Maybe she was fighting this potion. No, there went her voice again;  
  
"He told me how he killed my parents, told them "your daughter sends her love". He said he killed them because of me. He said they died knowing it was all my fault. I yelled out, fought the curse. He used the cruciatus curse then, and warned me not to say things like that again. It hurt. I was weak after, and he put the imperius curse on me at that time. Made me agree to be a deatheater. His wand tip went white hot, I could feel the heat. Made me lift my arm, and he started tracing the Dark Mark on my wrist. He was only half done when I broke away. He didn't finish the mark, but he ran away when I did a spell. I w-went back up to the school, to speak to Dumbledore. He understood. He told me to go back to my dorm and rest. I cried all the way up six flights of stairs. Barely slept. W-woke up late."  
  
Lily was escaping the potion. Her stuttering was her final uses of the potion. Now she was on her own free will. But did she want to stop now?  
  
"I, " she began, trying to remain in a monotonous voice and dazed appearance. "I got dressed, and sat by the window for a few hours. I was contemplating everything. My parents, Voldemort, my sister, Hogwarts. Then James Potter came in. I didn't notice until he made a noise. Asked him why he was in my dorm." All of a sudden she hiccupped. "Didn't mind him being there. I already knew I loved him. I felt so nervous, then he gave me my diploma. I was nervous about that too. He and I almost- but then he touched the mark on my wrist. There was too much pain. I pulled away, but I realized then that if we were together, it might put him in danger. I didn't want his pain to be my fault too." she stopped dead. The hiccup had brought on an undetected and unprecedented amount of veritaserum. Jesus, she just said that she - oh Jesus. Her eyes stopped being glassy. They now became wary and her breath came back into her lungs.  
  
James was still staring at her. He had finally let go of her wrist, but grabbed it again, and brought it out of the water. He then saw it. The mark. Half there, half not.   
  
He let Lily's wrist drop with a small splash into the water. He shook his head ever so slightly, as he pulled a small distance away from her. James breathed heavily out of his nostrils and narrowed his eyes. After a moment of looking at her, he used both hands to splash water on Lily's face.  
  
Lily closed her eyes as the water hit. The drops washed the tears from her cheeks, but couldn't replace the fresh batch So he did hate her. Now what?  
  
Her internal question was answered as a pair of lips pressed firmly against hers. Her stomach jolted and her heartbeat raced. His arm wrapped around her waist and Lily wanted nothing better than to throw her arms around his neck.   
  
"James? James are you out there? James!"  
  
Lily and James pulled apart, searching each other's eyes. They breathed heavily, and James tore his eyes away from hers as he looked towards the dock. Remus was standing on the porch, with a cordless phone in hand.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here!" James called back.  
  
"Arabella just called." said Remus, now at the base of the dock, still searching for his friend. James looked back at Lily, and swallowed a huge lump that had formed in his throat. Lily was still looking at him, still half shocked at what had happened. James swam close to her.  
  
"I'm sorry. I - I shouldn't have done that. I'm -" he couldn't finish. He sniffed and turned sharply away, swimming towards the shore. He clambered out and onto the dock. Remus stared at him.  
  
"Why were you -"  
  
"I was getting something from the boat and I accidentaly fell in the water when I tried to get out."  
  
"Oh." He looked suspicious, but he handed James the phone. " She wants you to call her back as soon as you can."  
  
"Isn't it a bit late though?"  
  
"Time change. I guess she forgot."  
  
"Oh." James' heart was still beating rapidly, and he wanted to sit down. His hands shook slightly, but he knew it wasn't fro the water or the cold air. His mind was still back with Lily. Remus was already walking back up the sloped yard to the cottage.   
  
"I hope Sirius or Lily didn't wake up." he commented while doing so.  
  
"Nah, they're both probably still asleep." James heard a quiet movement in the water, and only looked halfway over his shoulder.  
  
"Well, night then."  
  
"Yeah, good night Remus."  
  
As soon as his door was closed, James looked back out at the yard, but didn't see anything. He climbed the stairs slowly, dialing the number for his fiance. As soon as he reached the landing, he looked back again. Still nothing. He turned back, the phone ringing softly in his ear. James did a double take when he saw Lily standing by her doorway, in her pyjamas with a toothbrush in hand. She was looking at him, mouth slightly open.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
James snapped back to reality.  
  
"H-hi, Arabella?"  
  
"Oh, James! I thought something happened when Remus told me he couldn't find you!What were you doing?"  
  
James was still staring at Lily. She also jolted back when he said Arabella's name.She looked around quickly, before slipping into her room and shutting the door.  
  
"James?"  
  
"Oh, sorry." he went into his room and closed the door as well. He didn't turn on any lights, but he leant against the door and closed his eyes.  
  
"Nothing. Just went outside for a bit."  
  
"Oh. Well anyways, guess what? My parents surprised me with a gift when I came to get them. I was all ready to stay there when they give me plane tickets. Plane tickets! Oh, James, I'll be there tomorrow! Oh, I can't wait to see you. How's it been up there?"  
  
"Just great." he said, barely talking over a whisper. He still couldn't swallow that lump in his throat.  
  
"How's Lily? You didn't give her pink hair, did you? It would clash horribly with her dress, and I don't think Lily would like it anyways. Oh, right - the dress! Has she tried it on?"  
  
"Yes." James sunk to the floor.  
  
"And? Did you see it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
There was a moment of silence.   
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, of course not." James said, trying to sound normal. "Yeah, she tried it on. She showed Sirius and I. It looks nice."  
  
James cradled the phone between his shoulder and his ear, and used both hands to rub his eyes.  
  
"Aww. That's good. Well, anyways, my parents are bugging me to get off the phone. I swear, it's like I'm 16 again. So, I'll see you later tomorrow James. I love you."  
  
"M-me too. Bye."  
  
James hung up quickly, and adjusted his glasses. He couldn't say it. It was his soon-to-be-wife, and he couldn't tell her that he loved her.  
  
Lily climbed into bed, and pulled the covers up to her chin. She couldn't get warm, and she still felt lightheaded. Her last thoughts before she fell asleep, were of how fast she could physically pack her bag the next morning. 


	10. A toast to those we've known

Good Riddance :: 10 ::  
  
Lily Evans awoke early the next morning. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. She yawned and scratched the top of her head, and surveyed the room. Last night was a blurr as this happened, but it was brought back when she saw her clothing from yesterday that lay in a now damp heap by the doorway. She remembered apparating from the lake to her room, and changing quickly into her nightclothes.   
  
She then remembered her vow to pack quickly and make a subtle exit. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she could only imagine what Arabella would think of her departure. But how could she stay? There was no way she could stand through the wedding, watching as her best friend walked down the aisle towards a man who had only days before kissed Lily senseless. But if she left? What if James told her? More importantly, what if he didn't?   
  
And James now knew what she was. Oh, Lord, if he went to the Ministry. Azkaban would claim her for the rest of her life.  
  
Lily decided to just leave. She'd tell Arabella in a letter that she had been called back to work on a patient who needed urgent assistance. That should be believable enough. She was, of course, a doctor.   
  
Maybe she would be lucky enough to escape without anyone else (presently in the house) noticing. She slipped noiselessly out of bed, and went to the large closet where she had left her suitcase. She picked it up and heaved it onto her bed. Opening the zipper slowly for less noise, she opened a secret compartment and placed her wand inside. If the case went through customs, the wand would be indetectable by any machine.   
  
She went about packing in disbelief. Lily couldn't believe that ahe was abandoning her friend.  
  
"I don't believe you." came a voice at the door.  
  
Lily jumped slightly and turned to see James standing at the door.  
  
"I was called to work. It's urgent and -"  
  
"You've made it up."  
  
"James I can't talk to you now, I have to leave."  
  
James walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "Why are you running away?"  
  
"I told you, I've been called back to work. Honestly, I've got things to do." said Lily. She made her way over to the armoire, opening it without even knowing she was doing so. She stopped dead, eyes roaming over the dark green fabric. Her bottom lip quivered and she had to squeeze her eyes shut. No tears pushed through.  
  
  
"How could I stay?" she managed to say, closing the doors of the armoire. Her voice was a bit breathless for her liking, and her hands were shaking slightly. Lily shifted her weight from right to left to right again, before turning widely to avoid James' eyes.  
  
She began placing her clothing into the suitcase a bit more forcefully. It caused a few garments to unfold slightly.  
  
"Evans." James said, with an incomprehensible tone of voice.  
  
Lily stopped moving clothes and leaned both of her arms on her dissheveled pile, waiting.  
  
"I - I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it. It was just some adrenaline from what had previously happened. It was nothing. Just don't leave. Arabella really wants you to be here." James watched Lily's back, and after a long pause, he continued.   
  
"She's your best friend."  
  
"Christ, James!" Lily said in an exasperated tone, spinning around. "What will she think when someone tells her what happened?"  
  
"Someone? I'm not saying a word about it to her - alone! What, so you're -" his voice trailed off as he realized that this was why Lily was leaving. "Oh!" he yelled, "Oh I get it now! You just dont want to be the bad guy in this! What, were you going to leave, wait for me to tell her, and then play innocent?"  
  
"Of course not!"  
  
"Then what? Why are you so afraid of telling her what happened? I suppose you just aren't the friend to her that she thinks you are!"  
  
"I don't want to be responsible for hurting someone again!" Lily yelled. There was silence again for a fleeting moment, and then-  
  
"And who could Evans have hurt so badly that she's a coward to do such again?"  
  
Lily was silently shaking her head, all the pain from eight years past flooding her thoughts. She spoke only just above a whisper when she began talking again.  
  
"Two people I came to know as my mother and father were stolen and murdered - because - because of - of me. I lost all sense of direction and warmth before the age of eighteen. I stumbled and fell beneath all those who run home into the arms of their parents. I got to run home to an empty house, with a sister so distraught and angry and confused and - and hurt. " Lily looked up at James now, and stared deep into his eyes. "But you wouldn't understand the feeling, would you?"  
  
James stared back at her, before narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips.  
  
"My parents," he managed to say.  
  
"Your parents." Lily said, in a mock echo, sounding as if to say 'What about your parents?'  
  
"They aren't here." he said through his teeth.  
  
"Well, one can see that." she said, waving her hand around as if to elaborate. "But I suppose they'll be arriving tomorrow in the private jet from their estate somewhere north of here, r-"  
  
"THEY'RE DEAD!" James screamed, his eyes now sporting hot tears.   
  
Lily jumped at his voice, although her heart went the opposite direction. She's have to go retrieve it from the basement later.  
  
He approached her, his voice calmer but sounding more desperate and aggrivated.  
  
"And yes," he said, still walking towards her. "I believe I might just understand your feeling. But mine goes a little differently. See, I was five, and I was playing in my aunt's back yard when she called me inside. She was watching me tie my shoes while she held my coat. Our butler Ernie was there to pick me up, but today he didn't give me a piggy - back ride to the car. He didn't even talk. We drove home, and I saw how one lace was longer than the other. I remember how - how I still had dirt on my knees. I remember telling Ernie that mum would yell at me, but he said she wasn't going to. We argued all the way up the drive, and I didn't know why he was crying. This time he held my hand as we went to the house. People were there. People I didn't know. They were all looking at me. No, some were looking though the kitchen door. I remember seeing the minister, and I remember he was the one who told me my parents were dead. Jesus. I was five years old, I didn't understand him. I thought my parents just left. Seven years I waited for them to come back to me. Seven years until I realized what I had been too stupid to understand at five. No siblings there to even share my pain. No siblings to understand the humiliation I felt when my parents were the only ones not there to hug me on my first day of school. I just wanted someone to hug me like they did. But nothing." James said. His voice had gotten steadily louder throughout his speech, but he was crying now, not knowing that he had backed Lily into a corner of the room. She was staring back at him, in utter disbelief.  
  
"James," she breathed. "I'm so - so - sorry."  
  
"I lost all sense of direction and warmth before the age of six, Evans. I got to run home to an empty house every day and try not to look out the window at families playing together in the street. But -" he wiped his eyes on his sleeve before turning away to leave the room. Lily followed him, unable to apologize through the knot in her throat.  
  
She stepped halfway in front of the door just as he opened it. He stopped and swayed slightly. "But you wouldn't understand the feeling, would you?" he said, before continuing on, and shutting the door behind him.   
  
As soon as the door shut, Lily collapsed onto the bed. Nothing - nothing she could say could ever convey how upset and sorry she was. Her stubbornness failed, and she dissolved into tears.  
  
*  
  
"So she's still up there?"  
  
"Who knows. She locked the door behind me."  
  
"Maybe she apparated."  
  
"I sure as hell hope so." James sniffed, and began peeling potatoes with more force. Bits were scattered all over the counter.  
  
"Arabella is going to be here soon. Are you going to tell her?"  
  
James began gathering potato peels, he turned around to face Sirius, not looking away from his eyes as he dropped the peels into the garbadge can.  
  
"I see." Sirius said, and went back to frying chicken on the stove.  
  
It was a while before anything happened. James suddenly raised his head and looked out the kitchen window. He dropped the ear of corn into the sink and ran outside. Sirius followed suit.  
  
A car was pulling up the drive. It was a modest - looking car, probably a rental from the airport. Arabella didn't even wait for the car to stop before she threw open the door and stumbled out. A man James recognised as her father was staring after her in disbelief, as her mother removed the hand she had clasped to her chest.   
  
Arabella was running and laughing towards James, and fell into his arms. She kissed his cheek and grabbed his hand.   
  
"I've missed you."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Well hello," Sirius said, approaching her parents with a mischevious grin on his face. "Can't believe we haven't met yet. Sirius Black. I'll be playing best man at the wedding."  
  
"Charmed." said the father, looking at Sirius' dirty hands. Arabella's mother sauntered over to her husband, throwing her harm around his elbow and grinning madly at something just over Sirius' head.  
  
"Mum's not too good on planes. She had to indulge in a few drinks to be able to handle it." Arabella whispered.  
  
James nodded.  
  
"It was a six hour flight."  
  
"Ah," he said, smiling at Sirius, who seemed to be enjoying her intoxication.   
  
"Mum, Dad!" Arabella said, and called them over.   
  
Her father looked very severe, and like he owned a large company.James reminded himself that he did, in fact, own a company that sold automobiles. He didn't look away from James. Her mother was the same height as her husband, and the same build as Arabella. Her hair was slightly frazzled, and her eyes were bright yet glossy. She had very 'loud' jewellry adorning her wrists and neck, and large earrings dangling from her ears.  
  
"Well," she said, shoulders dropping as she spoke. "Wonderful to see you again, Jason. I don't want to be a bother, but you wouldn't happen to have some brandy inside? Only the nosh they gave us on the plane is a tad weak." she laughed to herself as she drew a few of the small, empty bottles of the airline's champagne. "It's a wonder these have become complimentary!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Mum!" Arabella said.   
  
"You'll have to excuse Winnifred." the man said. "She's not very good on flights."  
  
"Oh," James said, "Me neither."  
  
Arabella's father raised his eyebrows before walking away, pulling his wife along with him.  
  
James cursed inwardly, but Arabella hugged his arm and went to open the trunk. James followed her, passing Sirius, who looked like he was on the verge of laughing so hard. He had to look away when Sirius began coughing.  
  
James, Arabella, her Father, and Sirius were busy pulling suitcases out of the car's trunk when they heard a loud "Oh!" from the front door. They all looked up to see Arabella's mother swaying slowly in front of Lily, who was standing in the doorway, holding it open. Lily looked slightly taken aback at Winnifred's appearance. Winnifred spoke loudly from the alcohol, so the group at the car were able to hear every word she spoke.   
  
"Well?" she boomed. "Where's my room? I hope it's ready and clean, I don't like maids who don't do a proper job." Winnifred leaned dangerously close to Lily, and Lily was afraid gravity would kick in and the woman would be sprawled across the foyer.  
"I don't like ugly maids who don't do a proper job either. What-" she hiccupped, "What exactly do they pay you?" she said, waving a finger behind her, pointing six feet to the left of where everyone else was standing.  
  
"MUM!" Arabella yelled, and dropped her bag on the ground. She ran to the doorstep, and grabbed her mother by the shoulder just when Lily thought Winnifred's legs would fail her.   
  
"Mum, Lily Evans isn't the maid. She's the mai- she's in the wedding. This is my best friend. I want you to apologize to Lily for saying what you did."   
  
Her mother blew threw her lips, before turning to look at Lily. After a long pause, she said, "But she's got red hair!"  
  
"Oh, for heavens sake mum! You're drunk! Lily's got lovely auburn hair and emerald eyes." Arabella smiled at Lily, who smiled weakly back. Arabella leaned close to her mother, and whispered into her ear. "Your eyes haven't uncrossed since we've arrived."  
  
"Load of dung." said Winnifred. Shw waved a bony finger at Lily. "My eyes are fine." she said. Winnifred pulled free from her daughter's grasp and walked haphazardly into the cottage.  
  
Arabella truned to Lily. "I'm so sorry about her. Honestly, she's so far drunk she hasn't an idea what she's saying. I remember in seventh year when she pointed you out on platform 9 and three quarters. She said you looked lovely and womanlike. She's just so intoxicated."  
  
"It's okay, Arabella." Lily soothed. She threw her arm around her best friend's shoulder as they walked over to the car. "It's great to have another female in that place after two days with those guys."  
  
"Oh, this is going to be great. We'll have dinner, then me and you can hang around while the guys go out in the boat. You can tell me about everything I missed!" she said smiling. Lily swallowed and looked sideways at James, who looked dumbstruck at her presence. He changed his expression, and looked awya from her in an instant, reminding himself he was still furious with her. 


	11. Maybe a step backwards

Good Riddance :: 11 ::  
  
Lily felt cold when she stepped back inside the cottage, even though its heating was adequate and inviting to everyone else. She was still quite alarmed from Arabella's mother Winnifred, but she was mainly petrified of what would happen when she and her best friend would sit down and talk to each other. Lily had to keep re-adjusting her grip on the suitcase to keep her hands from stiffening. She wouldn't look James in the face. She couldn't. Not after what had happened.   
  
Once everything had been moved in and things were settled, everyone sat down at the magically enlarged dinner table to eat. Arabella's parents sat at either end, her mother going through the last effects of the alcohol. Her eyes were droopy, and she looked more tired than the rest of them put together. Lily sat between her and Sirius. She was directly across the table from Arabella, who was seated beside James. Between James and Arabella's father Aram, sat Remus, after James begged him to do such.  
  
The first minute was quiet, utensils and glasses chinking quietly.  
  
"Lily," said Aram after a while. "Arabella's told us so much about you. But she's never told us what it is you do."  
  
Lily swallowed the food in her mouth. Everyone was staring at her. James included. It was then she realized that only Arabella knew she was a surgeon.   
  
"Oh, well, I'm the Attending Physician at London General. I'm in charge in the surgical field, and I do a lot of work in obstetrics as well."  
  
"Impressive." he said. Everyone was still staring at her. Aram went back to eating, not looking impressed in the least.   
  
"Obstetrics, eh?" Sirius said.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
"How many-" he started, but Lily cut him off.  
  
"436."  
  
"Holy -" Sirius caught himself when he remembered there were those more elderly around him.  
  
"- cow." he finished. He began smiling at his plate while he continued eating.  
  
Lily pushed some mashed potatoes around her plate. These lapses in dialouge were so awkward. It was then that a hand slammed down only a breath away from the edge of her plate. Everyone jumped.  
  
Lily followed the arm, and saw it was attached to Winnifred, who was again staring menacingly at her. Lily wondered vaguely what comment would escape her mouth this time.  
  
"So," she said, voice low. "A doctor."  
  
It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. Lily swallowed.  
  
"And you're in charge of saving lives then, eh?"  
  
Lily saw Arabella squirming in her seat out of the corner of her eye. She nodded.  
  
Winnifred waited, and then - "So how many people died under your supervision?"  
  
Lily was unprepared for this question in any way, shape or form. Instantaneously, she had a picture of a woman in tears flash in front of her eyes.  
  
"That's uncalled for." said James, first to speak, followed closely by a loud "MUM!" from his fiance.  
  
The woman looked at Lily, and smiled with a satisfactory grin, before returning to her own dinner.   
  
"Uhm, if -" Lily started to push her chair back from the table as she spoke, " If it's alright, I'll just excuse myself. I'm not as hungry as I thought. "  
  
"No, Lily stay. Mum - will leave the table."  
  
"I'm not moving."  
  
"Yes you -"  
  
"No really, I need to get up to my room, get some paperwork done."   
  
Lily picked up her plate and carried it to the kitchen. From inside the room, she could hear the people seated around the table arguing in hushed voices at Winnifred. She gently scraped off the almost full plate into the garbadge can, then made her way to her bedroom. Once Lily was inside, she dropped to her hands and knees and pulled her laptop out from underneath. Her breathing was hoarse, but she flicked it open, and turned the computer on.  
  
After about a minute's worth of clicking and typing, she was staring at a man's profile, followed by a list of his personal information. Lily stared longingly at the man's face. She read his name over and over again. He was an elderly man, maybe in his late 70's. His name was Horrace Frank.   
  
Horrace was stubborn as hell when he first arrived, but Lily was just as stubborn back, and he instantly took a liking to her. Horrace told her stories of his niece who was so precious to him. When she was seven years old, she died of pneumonia. He kept telling Lily how she had a striking resemblence to this girl. The day before he went in for surgery, Horrace gave Lily a handkerchief that was given to him by this neice.  
  
Lily could recall that surgery perfectly. Right down to what pair of shoes she was wearing.  
  
The whole process took about 4 hours. Just past the halfway point, Lily's eyes had scanned the chest cavity for the thousandth time when she saw it. It was irregular, something about the way his heart was beating, but it was so small. Maybe it was nothing. But something told her it was something that needed attention. And yet, she was so close to completing a removal of a lesion that she just put it aside for a matter of moments.   
  
That's when the nurse's voice got anxious. Lily didn't hear what she was saying until the word 'heart' was involved. The beat was decreasing rapidly. Horrace was going into cardiac arrest. She ordered her team to take over for her, and she went to work, shocking the muscle.  
  
After each shock, she could hear the nurse saying there was no change, yet still decreasing. After a few more tries, Lily was deaf to anything but her own breath. 'Come on,' she was thinking, 'Please.'  
  
It was when a hand pulled gently on her shoulder that Lily snapped back to reality.   
  
"Why aren't you by the machine?" she demanded, although she could see nothing in her eyes. Her eyes fell to the floor, but Lily's drifted slowly to the machine. A straight line. Horrace was dead.   
  
Her team was staring apprehensively at her. None of them believed it. This was the first time Dr. Evans failed. Lily was staring at her tools, about to throw them to the ground and curse them with her magic. She maintained her composure, and swallowed her feelings.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
As her O.R. team cleaned up Horrace, Lily was given the task of informing his family of what had just happened.   
  
They were in the hallway by the waiting area. Lily couldn't look them in the eyes, but she raised her eyes to look at the one woman who had announced herself as Horrace's daughter. Lily shook her head slightly, and said "I'm so sorry." in a whisper.  
  
Horrace's sister looked furious, upset and confused. She raised her arm, and Lily felt the hard knuckles of her hand collide with her right eye, almost knocking Lily off her feet.   
  
"You've ruined our family! You killed my dad! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" she screamed in Lily's ears. She had to be restrained by her husband, although she kept thrashing at her.   
  
Lily closed the laptop, although she didn't turn it off. Someone knocked on the door. James' head poked through, and searched the room before seeing Lily on her bed. She narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"One." she said.  
  
James looked quizzical, but then his expression softened, and he came through the door. Lily saw that one hand was supporting a plate of food, while the other held a glass of water.   
  
"I thought you might be hungry, since you left so quickly."  
  
"I - oh, thanks."  
  
She pulled the food from his hands and tried to set the glass of water on the night table. Trouble was, the laptop was in the way. James saw this and lifted it up. She set the glass down quickly and held out her hand to take it back.  
  
"Eat." he said, sitting down on the bed next to her. "Got any good games on this?" he asked, flicking it open. He immediately saw the profile.  
  
"That's just some stuff for work."  
  
James scanned the screen, and his eyes passed over a small box. 'Time of Death: 5:27 p.m. November 14th, 1973'  
  
He stared at her. "Is this?"  
  
Lily looked from him to the screen to her plate to him again, and then back to her plate. She pretended to be interested in picking the carrots out of the green beans.  
  
"Lily it wasn't your fault."  
  
"If I had noticed his heart earlier, I could have done something. He could still be here if I did."  
  
"You tried though, there was nothing left of him."  
  
"How can you say that?" Lily said, putting her plate down on the bed roughly. A few carrots spilled onto the duvet. "There could have been something in him if I had done things differently."  
  
"You did what you could."  
  
"It wasn't good enough."  
  
James turned her head towards him, and looked at her with immense seriousness. "You are Lily Evans. Nothing you do is less than 110% up to par. If you did what you could, then that's all there was to it. No one could have asked for something better than your effort and care."  
  
James seemed to realize what he'd said, and he went back to staring at the computer screen. Lily started talking through the awkward silence.  
  
"If you look under the games icon, there's this really cool space game. I must have played it a thousand times but I've never beaten it."  
  
"Right. Is this it?"  
  
"Yeah. Watch out for asteroids."  
  
James laughed. Lily started yelling out directions before trying to take the laptop from him.  
  
"Oh, for heavens sake Lily, you try it then!" James said finally.  
  
Lily grabbed the computer and sat up straight. "Just watch me."  
  
Lily was at the game, James immediately yelling out instructions like an annoying backseat driver. Lily threw her arm out to her side and pushed his face away.   
  
Her fingers directed her spaceship through an asteroid belt and defeated an army of aliens. She rounded a black hole and made her way to a bright red flag.  
  
"Oh, YEAH!" she yelled, and punched the air with her fists.   
  
They were both laughing when Arabella poked her head through the door.  
  
"What did I miss?"  
  
"Nothing. I just beat a game on my computer."  
  
"Not without my help." said James, getting up from the bed quickly.  
  
"Oh, of course." Arabella said. "The guys are waiting on the boat for you. Hurry up, Sirius already discovered that old sailor's hat."  
  
James nodded,allowed Arabella to kiss his cheek, and left.  
  
"C'mon, I just figured out how to make smores through the microwave." Arabella said. "We can talk downstairs."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Once they had ambled downstairs, Arabella turned to Lily with a sombre expression.   
  
"I really am sorry about my mum."  
  
"Oh, don't worry about it."  
  
"But I do. She has no right to talk to you that way. Every time I try to say something to her she just ignores me. Honestly Lily, she doesn't mean a word of it."  
  
"I know. C'mon, you promised me smores." Lily started pulling things out of the cupboards. Once they had microwaved their snacks, they went outside to sit on the dock. They could just see the lights of the boat everyone else was on.  
  
*  
  
"James, the wedding is tomorrow. What are you going to do?"  
  
"I'll figure it out."  
  
"And when might that be?"  
  
"I'll figure that out later."  
  
Remus threw his hands in the air in frustration. James saw this and said, "Listen, I need to deal with this myself. Thanks for trying to help, but I just need to be alone to think for a while. There are some things I need to sort out on my own, and I don't want any influencing."  
  
Remus breathed hard through his nose. "I guess you're right. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be over there."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Remus walked towards the front of the boat, while James ventured to the back.   
  
Jams sat there, watching the water spill around the sides of the boat as they slowly moved around the lake. He knew he loved Arabella, and one kiss with another woman wasn't going to change that. But, was it just a kiss? He had feelings for Lily for ages since the last few days of their seventh year at Hogwarts. But Arabella had been there for him - unknowingly - and she understood his thoughts almost as well as Sirius did. Arabella made him feel calm and at peace when she was around him. Lily made his stomach twist, made him angry, and sometimes made him laugh - just like she did at Hogwarts. James realized he was smiling, and quickly pursed his lips. He loved Arabella, and this talk about Lily was a horrible distraction.   
  
It all fell haphazardly into place. He would marry Arabella because he loved her, and she loved him. Lily was a distraction, and that was it. She just walked back into his life after eight years, and - and - he was smiling again...  
  
*  
  
Lily rolled her pants up to her calves, and placed her feet into the inky lake. It was pleasantly cool. Arabella insisted on a chair, but pulled it up close beside Lily.   
  
"So, I guess you're excited about tomorrow?"  
  
Arabella almost fell into the lake. "No, Lily, I get married everyday.You twit,"  
  
Lily hesitated, "Has James talked to you since you got back?"  
  
"Well, yeah. Why?"  
  
Lily swallowed. This wasn't exactly what she was planning on hearing.   
  
"What exactly did he tell you?"  
  
"Oh, you know James. He just keeps going on about what happened while I was gone. You'll have to teach me how to play poker, Lily, I need to know how you beat James so many times."  
  
Lily's temper flared, and she forgot that she was holding a plate. She grabbed it just before it fell off her lap, but one smore fell into the lake with a small splash. "Okay." she said through her teeth.  
  
"How much did he lose?" Arabella asked with a laugh.  
  
Lily shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, and thought quickly ; "Just his dessert and a few pounds."  
  
Arabella laughed. Lily felt guilty about lying to her friend, but she was angry at James for lying first.  
  
"So that's all he told you?" Lily said.  
  
Arabella stopped laughing. "Yeah, why?"  
  
"It's just,"   
  
"Oh, don't tell me, he did something to you, you did something to him, and you think i'll be mad at the two of you."  
  
"Something like that." Lily said quietly.  
  
"Well,so long as the two of you didn't fall in love or anything - it doesn't matter. Nothing could ruin tomorrow." Arabella laughed again. "Did you turn his hair pink? I remember back in fourth year-"  
  
The rest just went on, Lily pretending to be amused by ther school day antics. Subconsciously, Lily was working out what she would have to do tomorrow. Just let it happen, she told herself. Just let them get married and be happy together. You'll be ecstatic when they send you the occasional Christmas card, and you'll be part of the background in their wedding photos. It's all you need, Lily Evans. It may not be what you want, but you'll be better off on your own. It's nothing when he smiles at you, when he makes you angry, or when he makes your heart beat unnaturally fast. That kiss was probably just to shut her up. She was a fool to think he cared for her again, even love her. She knew what she felt for him, but she knew that he didn't. Lily felt a pang of jealousy towards her best friend for a fleeting moment, but reminded herself that she was probably this way because she was reminded of their last year.  
  
Her feet kicked out and splashed something big and white. Arabella's voice came back from the dull sound it had been through Lily's thoughts.   
  
"Lily, get out of the way!" she said, half frustrated, half still amused.  
  
Lily looked up, and was staring straight into James' eyes. He was standing on the side of the boat as it was slowly pulling alongside the dock. Lily pulled her feet out of the water and brought her knees to her chest. James looked away first, and he smiled at Arabella, who got up from her chair and walked quickly over to the front of the boat where she worked with Remus to drop a ladder. James looked back at Lily, and they each stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity.   
  
Lily went deaf to all sounds around her except for her own breathing. They both had this look in their eyes (was it longing?). Lily pulled her gaze away from him to watch Arabella approach him on the dock. Lily pulled her shoes towards her and began putting them back on.   
  
Back on the boat, James was having a similar experience. He would have given anything to still be looking at her eyes. Lily pulled a few strands of that red hair behind her ears as she was quickly trying to untie the laces of her well worn runners. James' stomach twisted suddenly, and he knew - as he watched her now calmly tying her shoes, that he loved her.   
  
Someone's arms came around his shoulders, and James swirled around to look Arabella in the face. He suddenly didn't know what to do at that point. He felt awkward, and he simply hugged her for a split second, then mumbled something about leaving something in the lower part of the boat, although he headed for the ladder down to the dock.  
  
Arabella was left there, speechless.  
  
*  
  
Everyone slept with unease. Arabella's parents were talking in hushed voices about the next day. Sirius was trying to think of a good toast for the reception, but was finding it difficult for some unknown reason. Remus was worried about how James was handling things. Arabella was still wondering why James was acting so oddly around her. James himself was downstairs, fixing himself something to snack on, hoping it would help him sleep, and in the least - relax. Lily felt herself staring widely at her canopy. After a minute or so, she pulled the covers back and got out of bed.   
  
She crept to the door, opened it slowly, and made her way downstairs. She'd just get a glass of water, then she'd fall asleep easier.   
  
She flicked on the light to the kitchen, and the light illuminated James by the fridge. He jumped at the sudden burst of light, and slammed the door of the fridge accidentally on his finger. There was a sharp intake of breath from him, as he brought it back out, and began shaking it wildly.  
  
Lily smiled and watched for a moment. He put his finger in his mouth. Lily shook her head.  
  
"For heaven's sake," she said, and went over to where he was standing. She pulled his hand away from his mouth and led him to the sink. She turned the tap on and cold water washed over his finger. She turned the tap off and stared at the finger closely.   
  
"Well, there's your problem," she said. "It's dislocated." She looked up at him, smiling. "You must have been really scared."  
  
"Shut - up." he said a bit breathlessly. He pouted and held his finger up. He winced at it's odd, bent shape. "And that was my favourite finger," he said quietly. He bit his lip. "Damn it, it hurts."  
  
"Your favourite finger, huh?" said Lily, gently taking his hand with both of hers again.  
  
"Yes," he said. He was finding it hard to think straight at that moment..  
  
"Different from the rest of them?"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"In a good or bad way?"  
  
"Good."  
  
Your favourite finger?  
  
"Yes," said James, beginning to get annoyed.  
  
"And you say it was different?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
She looked up at him. "Would you say in a appearance sort of way?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Y'know; One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong, can you t-"   
  
"Shut - OW!" he exclaimed, as Lily took the opportunity of his distraction as a time to put his bones back in place. She let go, and James finally got his thoughts back.  
  
"Christ," he said, rubbing the joints. He brought it up for closer inspection. "Ouch." he said.  
  
Lily bent foreward and kissed his finger softly where it had been hurt. "All better." She quickly spun around and headed towards the door, stunned at what she just did. "You - you can put it under cold water again if you'd like, but it should be okay. " She turned and smiled at him again. "Good night James."  
  
He could do nothing but nod slightly, look from her retreating back to his finger, mouth slightly open, and back to the doorway, until she switched off the light and he was left in darkness again.  
  
*  
  
Lily hardly slept that night, but she still managed to get up early the next morning. She reluctantly made her way to where Arabella was sleeping, since she promised that she'd wake her up.  
  
"Bella? Bella, wake up." Lily said. Arabella just flipped over to her stomach and groaned softly.   
  
"Come on, you sleeping log, today is rather important."  
  
Arabella had her face in her pillow, but she managed to raise a hand, which in turn raised a finger.  
  
"Hey, I'll break that nail right off."  
  
"Fvv, mntss."  
  
"No, not five minutes, come on, get up!" Lily had been expecting this sort of reaction. Arabella wasn't a morning person. Lily brought out her wand from her housecoat pocket. She waved it in the shape of a water droplet, and said "Liquivus existem,"  
  
The back of Arabella's head was now soaking wet, as well as the surrounding sheets and pillows. Arabella shot up, and pulled the wet hair from around her face.  
  
"I hate it when you do that."  
  
"You should have learned from all those times in school, Figg."  
  
"You mean Potter, or soon to be."  
  
Lily smiled through clenched teeth. "This means you can go for a shower now, then we'll start on your hair."  
  
"Fine, but so help me if you make it ten feet tall."  
  
Lily snapped her fingers in a 'oh, darn' sort of way. "I'll get stuff ready out here, okay?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Don't take too long in there, the wedding is in 6 hours."  
  
Arabella threw a pillow at her best friend, and ran into the bathroom before Lily could throw it back. Lily had already thrown it, but it bounced off the bathroom door and knocked into her dresser. A few things tumbled to the floor. Lily bit her lip and went to clean it up.  
  
She first picked up a watch and a few bottles of nail polish, and set them back on the dresser. She bent to pick up one of two photographs that had also fallen.   
  
The photo was of her and Arabella, as well as the marauders, and a few other friends that she remembered well. They were still students in the picture, and they were all grouped together in the Great Hall, probably just after dinner. Everyone looked so happy, and Lily's grasp on the picture faltered when she saw that she was standing right next to James. In fact, she was resting her elbow on his shoulder. He was grinning, and he had his arm around Sirius' neck. Everyone was acting stupidly in the photo, and Lily had a longing look at it, wishing she could go back to that place. She had to put the picture back on the dresser before she got too emotional. She picked up the other picture, which had fallen upside down. She flipped it over, and saw that it was a picture of Arabella and James. It was just a close up shot of their heads, Arabella had her arms around his neck, but she was smiling widely at the camera. James looked like he was laughing. Lily smiled. They looked so happy together. Her bottom lip quivered slightly, and the picture fell from her hands.  
  
"What have I done?" she said quietly to herself. She was thankful for the water from the shower to be so loud as to muffle the sound of the dropped picture, or Arabella would surely have come to investigate.  
  
Arabella arrived out of the shower, as Lily ushered her to a seat in front of a desk. They talked and laughed together as Lily painted Arabella's nails, did her hair and make up, and gave her words of encouragement.   
  
Arabella got dressed in normal clothes, and Lily packed her dress into the rental car, as well as her own. The men had left earlier, and had gotten ready at the Country Club where the wedding was taking place. Arabella's parents had gone with them, much to Lily's approval.   
  
Lily drove, although her hands were shaking slightly. James still hadn't said a word to Arabella. This meant Lily would have to tell her. Lily looked in the rear-view mirror at Arabella, who was admiring her nails. Lily's eyes shot back to the road. Maybe she didn't, maybe she didn't. Lily thought to herself. If James nor Lily ever said a word to her, then so be it. Arabella need not know at all about what had happened. It would be the best way, especially since today was their wedding. No need to make trouble, there was enough stress going around already. Lily nodded.   
  
"What?" Arabella asked, "What are you nodding at?"  
  
"Huh? Nothing. Just agreeing with myself."  
  
"Oh," Arabella said, looking slightly confused.   
  
Lily promised herself that she'd talk to James about it, before he got a chance to talk to Arabella.   
  
*  
  
They arrived at the Club about an hour before the wedding. Lily could see staff running around with white chairs in a far field. It made her stomach churn, but she kept driving.   
  
They pulled up in the back parking lot, near some tennis courts. Arabella was looking around wildly to make sure that no one was around to see her hair.   
  
"Okay, we're clear. I'll run inside, and you follow with the dresses. Meet me in the hotel room."  
  
"Yeah, okay."  
  
"Okaaaay - Go!"  
  
Arabella threw open the car door and ran up a few stairs, dissapearing inside the building. Lily rolled her eyes and got lazily out of the car. She took her time getting their things out of the trunk, and hauled them up the stairs and inside.  
  
Arabella was watching for Lily through the spyhole in the door. Lily jumped almost ten feet when the door opened without her hand.   
  
"Get in, get in! We're you seen?"  
  
"Not as far as I know. Here." she said, handing Arabella her dress.  
  
Arabella accepted it gingerly, and placed it on the bed to take it out. Lily announced she was going to use her room, which was a few doors down.  
  
"I'll leave it unlocked, and call me on that phone if you need help."  
  
"Yeah, thanks Lily." Arabella said. Lily was caught off guard at Arabella embracing her in a tight hug. "Thanks for everything."  
  
"You're very welcome." Lily smiled and grabbed her things. "See you in a bit."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Lily closed the door behind her and walked quickly to her own room. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her.   
  
Just minutes afterwards, another door opened down the hallway, and James came out, dressed in his tuxedo already. He knew which room was hers, so he approached it slowly. He knocked softly.  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"No, it's James, can I come in?"  
  
"You aren't supposed to -"  
  
But he had already come through the door.  
  
"See me yet." Arabella dropped her arms to her sides, and James saw the beautiful wedding dress she was wearing.  
  
"You look amazing," he said, "but I need to talk to you before we get married."  
  
Arabella smiled. "It's actually going to happen!" she squealed.  
  
James didn't return the smile. Hers faltered. "What is it?"  
  
James swallowed deeply, and looked her straight in the eyes.  
  
*  
  
Lily was standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself with mixed feelings. The dress was beautiful, and her hair was up in a nice way, but she still felt awkward. She turned halfway, inspecting the dress from the back, when she heard a drawn out squeak from the door. She looked up at the mirror, and saw Arabella in the doorway. Her hand was against the door, the other clenched by her side. Lily turned around, and took a few steps foreward.  
  
Arabella lifted her hand from the doorway just as Lily was asking what was the matter. Arabella's hand swung back slightly, and forcefully came back again, colliding sharply with Lily's cheek. She had only two words.  
  
"Get - out." 


	12. Senseless

Good Riddance :: 12 ::  
  
Lily swung her arm out, and grasped the handle of the door. One side of her face was burning with sharp pains. Her vision tunneled for a split second before it returned to normal.   
  
"Bella, I-"  
  
"I said GET OUT!" she screamed, not even an inch from Lily's face.  
  
Arabella was crying, but her face was pink with fury. "I thought - but you were my best friend! How - WHY? I can't believe you - he was my fiance!" she said, pulling on her skirt in frustration. She was crying more openly now, but she kept yelling."When did you just decide to kiss him like that? Did you think I'd never find out? What kind of person -" she hiccuped, and kept opening and closing her mouth. "Dammit Evans, I can't even breathe!"  
  
"Arabella listen, please, just hear what I have to say."  
  
"I've heard enough from you! Enough! Just leave! If I ever feel like talking to an idiot, I'll call you up sometime."  
  
"Just listen - for Christ's sake! It was nothing - honestly it was. It's not at all what you think-"  
  
Arabella's fist collided with Lily's eye.  
  
"Painful, huh? Well, I've had worse, but I don't think you'd understand."  
  
"Arabella, I'm sorry-" Lily said from the floor. Now she could barely see. It would start to swell soon.  
  
Arabella stopped, she seemed to realize what she'd just done. She stared at her hands in disbelief. Her breathing was odd and loud.  
  
"I want you to stay away from us, hear me? Stay away. You've done enough tho our relationship.Good bye Lily." she whispered. She dropped her hands to her side, but she didn't move.  
  
Lily stood, and then slowly made her way out of the room. The door slammed behind her, so sharply that it slammed on her heels. She looked down the hall, and saw Sirius staring at her anxiously.  
  
"I'm leaving." she told him. She looked ahead at the wall in front of her. "I'm leaving."   
  
She looked sideways at him again, smiled slightly, then walked down the hallway rather shakily. At the end, she stopped, and brought out her wand from the hem of her dress. A moment later, she was gone.   
  
Sirius swallowed a lump in his throat. "Damn."  
  
*  
  
James was pacing in Arabella's room. She had been quite a while in the bathroom. He gave up pacing aimlessly, and knocked on the door.   
  
"Arabella? Are you okay? Let me in,"  
  
There was no answer.  
  
"Bella." he said.  
  
He placed his ear up to the door. He couldn't hear a sound. Then it clicked. He cursed inwardly, and ran out the door, skidding into the hallway. He ran a few doors down, and burst through the door.  
  
He saw Arabella collapsed on the bed, crying. She looked up when he came in.  
  
"Where's Lily?"  
  
"What does it matter?" she said, standing up from the bed.  
  
"What did you say to her?"  
  
"I didn't say anything. I think the two of you said it all."  
  
"Arabella, you're being irrational. This isn't fair -"  
  
"Irrational?! FAIR?!? You're one to talk James." she removed her gloves from her hands, and pulled a strand of her dissheveled hair behind her ear. "There's only one thing you can do to make up for it James."  
  
James was looking at her eyes, unwillingly, because there was something odd about them. They were darting wildly around the room. She looked out of her mind. He said nothing.   
  
Arabella's eyes stopped on him. "You marry me right now, and we'll forget this ever happened."  
  
James just stared at her.  
  
"And -" she said, pointing her finger at him. James was strongly reminded of a drunken Winnifred. "You have to promise me that you'll never seeor speak to Lily again."   
  
She smiled in an odd way, showing too much teeth. James stepped back when she stepped foreward.  
  
"Christ, James. We're better off without her, and you know it!"  
  
"She was your best friend only ten minutes ago, and now you've said something horrible, and god knows where she is!"  
  
"You kissed her James!"  
  
"Yes - I did! Does that mean I'm going away too?"  
  
"No!" she yelled.  
  
"Why?!" he yelled back.  
  
Arabella coughed and had to sit down on the bed. James' head was spinning, but he didn't move.   
  
It seemed as though Arabella had turned from a irrational state to a calm yet confused person.   
  
"I don't know what I've done," she said hoarsly, "I'm angry, and I'm hurt." she coughed again.  
  
James sat beside her. "Arabella. I'm sorry that this happened. I know that you're hurt and angry. You have every right to feel that way, but I can't go through with this if I'm not sure."  
  
Arabella let out a small laugh, and inhaled deeply through her nose. "I really saw us growing old together. I saw us re-visiting the cottage every summer." James stared at his hands. Arabella didn't say anything for a moment, and then; "You weren't that charming anyways."  
  
James smiled. "Thanks Arabella," he smacked his lips "I'll log that away."  
  
"So now what? What do we do now?"  
  
  
*10 minutes later*  
  
  
"Stupid thing, cuffs."  
  
"Yeah, but they might be useful."  
  
"For what? And where the hell is James?"  
  
"He left for a bit, but he didn't tell me why."  
  
There was a pause between Remus and Sirius' conversation, the they both launched into it at the same time.  
  
"I can't believe they're getting married."  
  
Just as,  
  
"I never pictured James with her."  
  
They both stopped and looked at each other and simultaneously, they said, "I always saw him with Lily."  
  
Sirius smiled and shook his head. "But that's not our choice to make, I guess. Aah, forget these!" he said, tossing the cuffs in the wastebasket, just as the door opened.  
  
Arabella poked her head in.  
  
"You can change back into regular clothes, boys. Wedding's off." she wiped her red eyes, "The whole ordeal is over."  
  
Remus was sympathetic. He went over and hugged Arabella. She hugged him back, and then told them she was going home with her parents, and maybe they'd hear from her soon.   
  
The two men waited until they heard the soft click of her door closing down the hall, before closing the door themselves.  
  
"I don't think I've ever been more proud of my best friend then I am right now."  
  
"That prat, he actually did it!"  
  
*  
  
Lily had apparated back into her office, where everything had started. Her desk was still a mess. With a flick of her wand, she was back in her scrubs. She was just about to sit down when Elena, a co-worker, burst into her office.  
  
Elena jumped ten feet when she saw Lily.  
  
"Lord, I didn't know you had come back already!"  
  
"Well, here I am. What did I miss?"  
  
"Oh, just the regular scrapes people get themselves into."  
  
Lily smiled meekly. Elena looked quizzicaly at her.  
  
"Something troubling you?"  
  
"No, nothing. Just a bit tired from the trip back."  
  
"You look as if you've been crying."  
  
"Ah, I'm not sure why that is." she forced a small laugh.  
  
"Mm. Well, if you want, you can come do some rounds with me."  
  
"I'd love to," Lily said, grateful for something to busy her mind for a while.  
  
The two friends set off, visiting patient after patient, Lily catching up on medical stats and general gossip along the way.   
  
"This is where I'll be leaving you." said Elena. "I need to go back to my office."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Lily walked the length of the hallway to the familiar nurse's station at the end. One stout woman that Lily knew well, seemed to be uncomfortable, but got all anxious at the blink of an eye.  
  
"Oh, Lily, thank goodness you're here! A man was brought in only seconds ago, the paramedics took him to room - uh - 407. It may be cardiac arrest."  
  
"What?! Why haven't you called code blue?"  
  
The woman shrugged, and Lily could see her hand hesitate before picking up the phone. Lily left that moment, and was running full speed to room 407. She was five feet from the door when she heard the nurse's voice come over the intercom.  
  
"This is a code fake, repeat, code fake. Um, everyone have a great day."  
  
Lily thought she had just heard it wrong, but she was slamming through the door at that moment anyways, and she skidded into the room.  
  
James Potter was sitting calmly on the edge of a hospital bed, his legs dangling over the edge, swinging slightly.   
  
"That cost me more than you'd expect."  
  
Lily dropped the clipboard she had been carrying. It clattered on the polished floor. She bent slowly, still looking at him, when her eyes shot down to the ground. In a heartbeat, she was running back out the door, clipboard forgotten. She didn't even know why she ran away, but seeing him there made her too confused for words. A few steps behind her, she could hear the door to 407 open again.  
  
"Lily, wait!"  
  
'No, I can't wait. I'm not supposed to be here, you're supposed to be somewhere else. You're supposed to be on a plane to America.' She kept running.  
  
Lily rounded a corner, running past bewildered faces and people who had to jump to get out of her way. She rounded another corner, and slammed through the door of the women's washroom. She went into a stall, pulled it shut, and had just enough time to pull her feet onto the seat before she heard James burst into the room as well.  
  
She could hear him breathing heavily. Lily put a hand over her mouth to stifle her own breath as well.  
  
"I know you're in here, the only other place you could have gone would have been in a janitor's closet." he paused to breathe again. "Listen, I couldn't go through with it today. Maybe - maybe I was just scared out of my mind, maybe I was dreading the in-laws. But," he stopped to run his hands through his hair in frustration, "But then I knew why nothing felt right. Nothing had felt right in eight years."  
  
Lily was grateful for her hand over her mouth, or something would have escaped. Her eyes were getting blurry.  
  
"I was never sure why I felt so empty all the time. When you came back, I was too confused already, so I was mad at you. Then a few days pass by, and it just falls back into place again. Like a void had been filled. I knew when-"  
  
Both Lily and James were taken aback as a door maybe two down from where Lily hid swung open and a young volunteer nurse came out in tears. She took one look at James and erupted into tears all over again. Just as she was passing the door, she pointed shakily at the stall where Lily was. The nurse was halfway out the doorframe when she ran back and hugged James tightly around the middle. James patted her embarassingly on the head. She left shortly thereafter.  
  
James crept up to the door, and pressed his ear up against it, oblivious to the fact that Lily was doing the exact same thing on the other side.  
  
"It was when you were tying your shoes on the dock, Lily." he whispered.  
  
Lily closed her eyes, but she didn't say anything. She could hear James move away from the door after a minute. He sat on the counter, and folded his arms.   
  
"I've waited for eight years, Evans. Waiting for you to come out is cake now." he sighed dramatically. "You'll have to admit to loving me back, or admit to hating me. Either way, you can't stay in there forever. Don't be stubborn now."   
  
Lily squeezed her eyes shut. She wiped her face with her sleeve, and tried to think straight. 'Just tell him off, apparate out of here. Go and kick him in the shins. Once he leaves, you can go back to a normal, quiet life. Just your style.'  
  
Lily's eyes popped open in disgust.  
  
From where he sat, James suddenly saw one foot, then another appear on the bathroom floor, then the click of a lock being opened. His breath caught in his throat.  
  
The door swung open slowly, and Lily stepped out. They looked at each other, and for once Lily knew exactly what she wanted to say.  
  
"It was when I shook your hand at the airport."  
  
James' heart stopped.  
  
"I hate you too." he said quietly. He stood up from the counter. Lily's heart was pounding against her ribcage, and all of a sudden the world around them just stopped. And then James halted too. He raised one eyebrow, and then turned his upper body in the direction of the doors. James was beginning to run, when he (for some reason) was thrown backwards, knocking Lily off her feet as well. He looked around wildly, and saw that Lily was holding her wand, smiling slightly.  
  
"You think I was about to let you go?" she asked, sitting up.  
  
James broke into a grin, and crawled up to her, until they were face to face. He rolled his eyes in an impatient way, but was caught off guard by Lily bringing her lips softly against his. They kissed each other for all they were worth, holding each other closely.  
  
James pulled away, and he hugged her close to him.   
  
"I love you," he whispered in her ear.  
  
"I love you," she whispered back.   
  
They kissed again, both never wanting the moment to end.   
  
  
And somewhere, never to be known precisely, a blood-curdling scream broke through a silence. The one that it had come from brought his hands to his head, trying to stop a feeling of throbbing pain throughout his entire body. A nearby person approached quickly.  
  
"What ails you my Lord?"  
  
"A pain, a horrible PAIN!" he screamed  
  
The man slid down in his seat, grinding his teeth together.  
  
"Should I send for someone?"  
  
"No, bring in this man you have found."  
  
"Yes, my Lord."  
  
And soon, a man known to most as Peter Pettigrew came stumbling through a large doorway, hands bound in chains, feet bare and filthy.   
  
And through the throbbing, the tunneled vision, and the inability to move without discomfort, Voldemort smiled a malicious grin.  
  
  
END  
  
  
:: to be continued in a sequel entitled "what was" :: 


End file.
